§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he chose to make statements on the radio and to the Press on the latest Treasury errors in financial forecasting instead of to the House of Commons; and whether he will stop this practice in the future.
§ Mr. HealeyIn opening the debate on 11th October, I called attention to the254W worsening in our economic position since the July assessment. It was, and is, premature to say what effect the change is likely to have, in the event, on next financial year's public sector deficit and borrowing requirement. I welcomed the chance to deal with a journalistic speculation about this subject when I was interviewed on Radio Leeds on 6th November but I made no announcement.