§ Mr. Norman Lamontasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the results of the inquiry on the sixpence; and whether he has reached a decision on the future of this coin.
§ Mr. NottThe Royal Mint consulted 165 representative organisations. Sixty-nine were in favour of withdrawing the coin, 27 suggested retention and the remainder were neutral or silent. Almost all the 4,260 members of the public who expressed views wanted to see the coin kept. The sixpence in in fact now very little used and there are only 330 million outside the Mint compared with 1,900 million at the time of decimalisation; a high proportion of the 330 million are not in active circulation and the traffic across bank counters is only 3 per cent. of that before decimalisation. This is not a matter which the Government can control, and a further decline in the use of the coin seems likely. However, the Government do not wish to anticipate this situation. It has therefore decided that the 6d. (2½p) coin shall remain legal tender for at least another year. The position will be reviewed again during 1974.