HC Deb 10 January 1977 vol 923 cc420-1W
Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give the total banknotes in issue during the recent Christmas period; to what extent this had increased over the period immediately prior to Christmas; how much in excess of the summer holiday peak period this amount was; and how much over the Christmas 1975 period.

Mr. Denzil Davies

The Bank of England's note issue stood at £7,375 million on 21st December, the highest point it reached over the Christmas period. On 1st December 1976 the note issue stood at £6,775 million. During the summer of 1976 the value of bank notes in issue reached a peak of £6,800 million on 3rd August; and on 19th December 1975 bank notes in issue totalled £6,600 million.