§ Mr. Stratton Millsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the 189 companies which have increased their dividends since 20th July, 1966 did so with the agreement of the Treasury; and how many were close companies.
§ Mr. MacDermotBy 16th March, 1967 about 200 companies had announced proposed increased dividends; of these 50 rescinded their increases at the request of the Treasury. Of the remaining 150 companies, 15 increased their dividends due to a misunderstanding about the precise application of the standstill policy in their particular cases. 135 increased their dividend with Treasury agreement. The greater part of these involved increases in a technical sense only, e.g. owing to material capital changes in a company's structure. 32 were close companies.