Mr. De la Bèreasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the widening interest displayed by the public in Government securities, he will issue an explanatory statement showing the modus operandi of the Treasury deposit receipts and the reasons which necessitated the Government sanctioning the conversion of these deposit receipts into Government securities ranking equally with securities subscribed for by the public?
§ Sir K. WoodNo, Sir. I am not aware that there is any demand for such a statement. The details of the scheme were given in my reply to my hon. Friend the senior Member for the City of London (Sir G. Broadbridge) on 4th July, 1940. It was part of the original scheme that banks could encash Treasury deposit receipts before maturity for the purpose of investing the proceeds in new Government loans on behalf of their customers or themselves. I am of opinion that it is in the national interest that investment in longer term debt should thus be facilitated.