§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the effect on sales has been of raising the minimum purchase of premium bonds to £100.
§ Mr. RyderIn the six months since the change premium bond purchases averaged some 58,300 a month to a value of about £19.7 million. During the corresponding period in 1988, premium bond purchases averaged around 166,400 per month to a value of some £26.4 million.
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints he has received to date about the increase in the minimum value of a purchase of premium bonds to £100.
§ Mr. Ryder[holding answer 13 February 1990]: My right hon. Friend and I have received a number of representations about the increase in the minimum purchase of premium bonds from right hon. and hon. Members on behalf of constituents and from members of the public.
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is(a) the number of people investing in premium bonds each month since the change to a minimum investment of £100, (b) the number of persons who purchased bonds in each of the six months before the change and (c) the value of the bonds purchased in each of those months.
§ Mr. Ryder[holding answer 13 February 1990]: The minimum purchase for those aged 16 and over was increased to £100 on 1 July 1989. The number and value of premium bonds purchased in each month since the change are:
1989 Number Value (000s) (£ million) July 57.4 21.4 August 63.2 24.7 September 60.2 22.0 October 60.4 20.1 November 58.8 17.0 December 49.6 13.1 The number and value of premium bonds purchased in each of the six months prior to the change are: January 197.3 29.6 February 170.4 25.2 March 171.9 24.4 April 170.5 24.6 May 163.2 25.1 June 190.4 22.5
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average value of the holdings of premium bonds.
296W
Excise duty and VAT on 20 cigarettes in the most popular price category: as at 12 February 19901 RSP2 Factor3 cost Total duty VAT Total tax Total tax as percentage of RSP (pence) (pence) (pence) (pence) (pence) Belgium 104 30 68 6 74 71 Denmark 239 34 162 43 205 86 France 104 36 52 16 68 65 Germany 149 41 90 18 108 72 Greece 41 13 17 11 28 68 Ireland 188 48 102 38 140 74 Italy 91 25 52 14 66 73 Luxembourg 82 23 50 9 59 72
§ Mr. Ryder[holding answer 13 February 1990]: The average value of each holding since premium bonds were introduced in 1956 is around £95.
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current rate of interest on premium bonds; and how much of the monthly and annual interest is paid out in prizes.
§ Mr. Ryder[holding answer 13 February 1990]: The rate of interest used to calculate the total prize fund is currently 6.5 per cent. per annum of the value of bonds eligible for each prize draw.