§ Mr. A. Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in HANSARD a table of figures giving the actual amounts of monies borrowed from the Public Works Loan Board by the 67W county borough of West Ham for each of the years from 1951 to date, the interest rates charged, what the repayments have been for each of these years, and what the repayments would have been had the interest rates and charges remained at their 1951 level.
§ Mr. Maurice MacmillanThe following is the information required:
BORROWING FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS LOANS BOARD BY THE COUNTY BOROUGH OF WEST HAM Financial year Borrowing by West Ham Rate of Interest Annual repayments on loans made in stated years At actual rates of interest At average 1951–52 rate of 3⅜ per cent. £000 per cent. £ £ 1951–52 371 3⅞† 16,212 14,720 1952–53 610 4¼ 29,456 25,254 1953–54 13 3½ 1,146 1,136 1954–55 1,674 3⅝ 81,998 79,022 1955–56 1,352 4½ 78,026 67,154 1956–57* 203 5½ 20,032 17,344 * West Ham has not borrowed from the Public Works Loans Board since 1956–57. † The rate of interest on their borrowing from the Public Works Loans Board in 1951–52 was slightly higher than the national average because more was borrowed later in the year when interest rates were higher. In other years the West Ham average was sometimes lower, reflecting a higher proportion of borrowing for shorter periods.