HL Deb 04 November 1975 vol 365 cc1132-3WA
The Earl of HARROWBY

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, in order to reduce the danger of figures being misread, they will:

  1. (a) arrange for all Government printing to have double spaces between pounds and pence, and commas between groups of three digits; and
  2. (b) endeavour to secure that typewriter manufacturers should provide a key with a dot in the centre to represent the decimal point, and make the provision of such a key a condition of Government typewriter contracts.

The LORD PRIVY SEAL (Lord Shepherd)

Question (a): No. Government Departments use a decimal point without adjacent spaces for money sums in official printing, either on the line (like a full stop), or as a centred point, as was recommended by the Decimal Currency Board. Between groups of three digits, the traditional United Kingdom practice of using a comma still applies, but it is gradually being passed out in Government printed work of a scientific or technical nature, in favour of a narrow space, in accordance with British Standards.

Question (b): No. The Government accept the widely-publicised conclusion of the Decimal Currency Board that, in typewritten and other documents produced on machines which have no centred decimal point, the use of the full stop on the base line is the acceptable alternative. This also accords with British Standards. The long-established practice for using the same key for both the full stop and the decimal point is generally accepted and well understood, and I see no need to try to change it.