asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the numbers and particulars of all persons summoned by the Treasury for currency offences; and the amounts of fines and punishment in each case.

Thirty-six people have been prosecuted this year for illegal foreign currency deals or similar offences. They were all convicted, and fines totalling £85,304 were imposed. In one case three months imprisonment was also imposed. Other cases are pending.

Could the Chancellor tell the House how many of those charged were miners, engineers or bricklayers?

Not without rather complicated research, but my hon. Friend may make as good a guess as anybody else.

Could the Chancellor give any hope of a lightening of these restrictions so that bona fide travel can be undertaken?

For bona fide travellers, and for all bona fide Britishers who are not out to cheat their country, there are proper facilities now. I take the most severe view of all these law-breakers running away with our scarce foreign exchange resources at a time of great difficulty.

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that this number of 36 represents only an infinitesimal fraction of the number of people who have been abroad?

This represents prosecutions which have succeeded.

Yes, I know.

Other cases are pending, as I have already said. I am sorry to say that this habit of cheating on foreign exchange abroad is pretty prevalent.

Can the Chancellor say that every case which is prosecutable has been undertaken; and if, not, on what basis are the cases selected?

On the evidence we have as to whether the prosecution will succeed. So far, we have not got around to catching the lot.