§ Mr. Michael Forsythasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) why he will not consider, when a suitable legislative opportunity arises, amending the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845 to (a) raise the limit on the fiduciary issues of Scottish bank notes to a level commensurate with the devaluation of the currency since 1845, (b) allow the Trustee Savings Bank to issue its own bank notes on a comparable basis to the existing three Scottish banks, and (c) give the Treasury powers to grant a similar right to any new banks that might be established in the future;
(2) if he will consult the Trustee Savings Bank in Scotland to ascertain its interest in being permitted to issue bank notes;
(3) if he will list the Scottish banks certified by the commissioners under the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845 and the amount of bank notes certified as issued under section 1 of the Act;
(4) if he will list the bank mergers that have taken place since 1953 to which the provisions of section 4 of the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845 applied, the dates on which the merger became effective and the certified amounts of issued banknotes determined under the said section.
§ Mr. Ian StewartI shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.