§ Mr. Gouldasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if the money passed back to the private sector by the Bank of England through the purchase of commercial bills appears in any calculation or measure of growth in the money supply; what are the figures for that measure in every quarter since the beginning of 1979; and how either that measure or the amount spent on purchasing commercial bills compares with the amount of overfunding for each quarter over the same period;
(2) what rate of interest is currently charged by the Bank of England when it agrees to purchase commercial bills; and what information he has as to how this compares with the rates of interest currently payable on bank deposits;
(3) what is the estimated total of commercial bills (a) currently held by the Bank of England and (b) still in private hands;
(4) if there is any policy limit on the ability of the Bank of England to purchase commercial bills;
(5) what has been the extent of overfunding for each quarter since the beginning of 1979; what has been the extent of the Bank of England's purchase of commercial bills for each quarter over the same period; and what effect these two factors have had on interest rates and monetary policy.
§ Mr. Ian StewartI shall let the hon. Member have replies as soon as possible.