§ Mr. SpellarTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what rate of interest the Government are paying to borrow money; and what has been the rate in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. NelsonThe Government's borrowing programme involves issuing a number of different liabilities, mainly gilts and National Savings products.
841WThe coupons payable on gilts are given in table 3.6 of "Financial Statistics", together with the nominal amount of each issue and the cash received. The supplementary statements to the Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund Accounts give further details on an annual basis. For each stock, they indicate the principal outstanding at the beginning and end of the year, the cash received from borrowing and the discount on each stock, repayments, and the interest paid.
A summary measure of the interest rates payable on gilts is provided by the par yields for five, 10 and 20 year gilts in table 13.5 of "Financial Statistics". These show that gilt yields are now at their lowest levels for more than 20 years. The rates on National Savings products are published in the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes and in press notices at the time of each interest rate change. The rates are also displayed in Post Offices. A back series of the rates on the investment account is published in "Financial Statistics", table 13.9.