asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what negotiations he is undertaking with the Swiss Government with a view to enabling British citizens to visit Switzerland for the winter sports.

None, Sir.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that his answer will put an end to the rumours which have been circulating, and also encourage the Scottish winter sports resorts to plan accordingly?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that articles, and especially articles of clothing, particulars of which have been sent him, ordered before the Budget, shall not be liable to increased Purchase Tax.

No, Sir. Under the law, the rate of tax payment depends on the date of delivery of the goods by the registered supplier, not on the date of the order; and I cannot make any exception to this rule.

Is the Chancellor of the Exchequer aware of the many cases which have been brought to the notice of hon. Members? One typical case is that of a Merchant Navy officer who ordered his suit, tried it on, but could not take delivery of it because he was on the high seas bringing food to this country.

I am aware that in the imposition of any taxation there are bound to be a few hard cases.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he has considered the hardship caused by the imposition of additional Purchase Tax on suits ordered from tailors before 12th November, 1947, and delivered after that date; and whether he proposes to provide for the payment of compensation to persons adversely affected by this.

No, Sir. Under the law, the rate of tax payable depends on the date of delivery of the goods by the registered supplier, not on the date of the order; I regret that it is impossible to make exception to this rule.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that hardships of this sort were not inflicted in the nineteenth century? Is there any reason why, to deal with a very small number of very hard cases, a system of rebates should not be introduced?

We obviously cannot confine this to the small number which, I know, the hon. Gentleman has in mind. If this is done, it must be done over the whole field. When this arrangement was made and the Purchase Tax was first implemented and arrangements made with the trades, it was decided, after very careful thought, that the wholesale stage was the point at which this Tax should attract itself to the goods in question.

Will the right hon. Gentleman recall the remark of his right hon. Friend the Minister of Health, who said the other day that "bigness is the enemy of humanity"?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he proposes to convert or pay off the £302 million of 3 per cent. Conversion Loan on 1st March, 1948.

Notice was given in the Gazette on the 28th November that this loan will be redeemed at par on the 1st March, 1948.

Will the Chancellor of the Exchequer give an assurance that he will not repeat the folly of his predecessor in trying to buy back Gilt Edged securities at 2½ per cent. on a long-term basis in order to try and redeem this amount more cheaply?

I shall try to carry out the wise policy of my predecessor.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the Paper C.22035, giving the budgetary increases in Purchase Tax, was circulated and delivered to business offices before the speech of the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Budget day.

The leaflet referred to was not even printed until after the Budget Speech. But, as is usual on these occasions, a notice was issued giving the precise information which traders concerned need to have at the earliest possible moment to enable them, where necessary, to adjust their selling prices. Great care is taken in timing the distribution of these notices to ensure that they are delivered on, but not before, the morning after the Budget Statement. I have no reason to think that the safeguards against leakage are inadequate.

Is the Chancellor aware that the allegation that information was given to the trade on the morning of Budget day was made a week ago in open debate in this House, and that although there was a representative of the Treasury on the Front Bench he did not deny it?

A good many remarks are made in open debate which are not immediately denied by the Minister, but which are none-the-less inaccurate.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I supplied his predecessor with information to the effect that this information was, in fact, released early last April?

I presume the hon. Gentleman got the same sort of answer.

Will the right hon. Gentleman differentiate between the leaflet that was, in fact, sent out, and the leaflet referred to in the Question? Is he aware that 120,000 copies were sent out? A business friend of mine tells me they were marked, on the morning of the Budget, "Not to be opened till five o'clock." By what right and authority did he print these leaflets before the increases were passed by this House?

In the guise of a question the hon. Gentleman must not repeat the speech he made the other night.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the approximate purchasing power today of a Savings Certificate purchased in August, 1939; and if he will assure purchasers of Savings Certificates that there will be no loss to them of purchasing power in the future.

A 15s. Savings Certificate bought in August, 1939, is worth 18s. 9d. today. Its future purchasing power, if cashed, depends on what is bought with the money, and it is therefore impossible to consider any such assurance as that suggested by the hon. Member.

May I ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he has deliberately misinterpreted the meaning of the Question? I want to know what is the purchasing value in normal commodities of a certificate now as compared with 1939. Is he not aware that inflation is a deterrent to the Savings Movement?

It is quite impossible to state what the purchasing power is, unless we know on what the money is to be spent. Some foodstuffs, for example, are at prewar prices. If it is spent on those, then the purchasing power is the same as in 1939. Other articles are more expensive.

Would the purchasing power be more or less?

In some cases it would be more.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the fact that a large number of holders of railway stocks have, of necessity, to hold their securities until they are entitled to the forthcoming dividends, and that they may not be able to continue to hold the new transport stock owing to reduced income on reduced capital, he will take steps to secure that these investors will receive the cash value for their securities as indicated by the take-over price.

I must ask the hon. Member to study the arrangements for exchange of securities, details of which will be published on 9th December.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is satisfied that the contraction of the active note circulation by £19,769,000 in the past fortnight is not in some degree due to black market operators disposing of illicit gains; and whether he will now therefore give further consideration to the recall of the currency.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Bucklow (Mr. Shepherd) on 18th November.

While appreciating the importance of the element of surprise in this matter, will the Chancellor continue to bear in mind the enormous volume of the transaction involved?

If the hon. Member will look at the answer I gave, I think he will be satisfied.

Would not the Chancellor agree that the discussion during the Budget Debates on recalling the note issue has caused some embarrassment in the black market?

It has apparently caused embarrassment to somebody.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now consider, as an inducement and incentive to tens of thousands of former women operatives and new women recruits whom he has required to return to textile factories, a tax concession for married women in industry.

I would remind my hon. Friend that the additional relief allowable in respect of a wife's earned income was increased from £80 to £110 by the Finance Act, 1946.

In view of the fact that only last week the right hon. and learned Gentleman made an appeal for such women to return to work, will he not now give some further concession to them? Otherwise it would appear that the clothing ration will be endangered in the future.

My hon. Friend will be glad to hear that there is a good response in the textile industry to the appeal for the return of this type of labour.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the Government's revised capital programme, he proposes to make any change in the instructions to the Capital Issues Committee.

Yes, Sir. I have today addressed a Special Memorandum to the Capital Issues Committee, drawing their attention to the principles set out in the White Paper on Capital Investment in 1948, and instructing them not to recommend consent to the raising of money for fresh capital outlay, except where the reports received by them from Government Departments show that the scheme is in full accord with the revised general programme. The Committee have for some time, with my predecessor's approval, been adopting a more restrictive attitude towards applications, and the purpose of the new memorandum is to give clear and formal expression to the revision of emphasis required by our economic position. I propose, with the permission of the House, to circulate the text of the Special Memorandum in the OFFICIAL REPORT. For convenience of reference it will be reprinted as a Command Paper at an early date.

As regards bank advances, the banks having during and since the war given most valuable help in restricting credit facilities to conform with the general policy of the Government. It is more important than ever that this co-operation should be continued, and the banks will be asked to observe the intentions of the new memorandum to the Capital Issues Committee.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether pending the possibility of releasing general postwar credits, he is prepared to consider measures for releasing these credits in individual cases of special hardship.

No, Sir. I regret that further payments of postwar credits cannot yet be made beyond those already authorised.

Is not the Chancellor aware there are numerous cases of very great hardship which he ought to consider? Will he further realise that the local officers are giving a very widespread impression that no one in any circumstances can obtain their postwar credit until they or their successors reach 65 years of age?

The limitation by age applies to men over 65 and to women over 60. That class was selected because it was thought that holding up of the credits would be hardest on them.

I would like to press the point that the local officers are giving that false impression, and it should be cleared up quickly.

Would the Chancellor consider paying the credits to the next-of-kin in cases where the owner has passed away and where, in many cases, there is a tremendous hardship? That would not take much money from the Treasury. I have in mind a case of a woman, aged 40, who has written to me. She is the next-of-kin and cannot get the money.

In the future release of postwar credits, will the right hon. and learned Gentleman bear in mind that age is not the only criterion of poverty?

I certainly will bear that and other matters in mind.

I beg to give, notice that I will raise this matter on the Adjournment at the earliest possible opportunity.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether any assessment for purposes of Income Tax or Surtax is made on the free living accommodation provided for certain Ministers of the Crown.

No, Sir. These official residences have never been charged to Income Tax since the middle of the nineteenth century.

Does that answer mean that the right hon. Gentleman in such matters will follow the procedure of the nineteenth century?

I think it means that the hon. Member is probably living in the past.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what is the procedure to be adopted by old age pensioners to obtain replacement of tobacco coupon books lost through accident or theft.

I regret that books of Tobacco Duty relief tokens lost through accident or theft cannot be replaced, because to do so would promote abuse of the concession.

Would the right hon. Gentleman consider this matter again, because surely tobacco coupons, like clothing coupons, can be replaced if they are lost?

The difference is that a clothing coupon book is numbered and also has the name of the owner on it. That is a considerable difference.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what were the original duties of the Head of the Civil Service at the time of the first appointment to that office; in what respects those duties have since changed; if he is satisfied that in the light of experience there is any justification for the continuance of this office; and on what grounds;

(2) whether the assurance given by His Majesty's Government on 13th December, 1944, that the authority of the Head of the Civil Service no longer extended to the Foreign Office, still applies; to what other Departments it has ceased to extend, and what further alterations of this authority he intends to make.

It was laid down in 1919 that the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury should act as permanent head of the Civil Service and should advise the First Lord (the Prime Minister) in regard to higher Civil Service appointments. There is no office of permanent or official head of the Civil Service. That is simply a designation which has attached to the holder of the post of Permanent Secretary to the Treasury. I am not aware of any change in the duties of the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury since 1919, and none is contemplated, other than the fact that the Foreign Service has, since 1944, been entirely separate from the Home Civil Service. As I explained in the answer which I gave the hon. and gallant Member on 18th November, the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury has no authority over any Department other than the Treasury.