§ 58. Sir G. Nabarroasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement on the hire purchase aggregate load, now in excess of £1,700 million, measured in terms of retail prices; and when he estimates the figure of £2,000 million will be passed, at the present rate of increase in hire purchase transactions.
§ Mr. NobleThe recent growth of instalment credit demonstrates the effect of the removal of controls over hire 341W purchase and other transactions last July. If instalment debt owed to finance houses and retailers were to go on increasing at the same average rate as it has since the controls were lifted, the total would reach £2,000 million about the end of this year.