To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications of the rates of interest charged by the major credit companies for his policy of reducing inflation.

Credit card borrowing represents less than 5 per cent. of total personal debt. So the impact of credit card interest rates both as a cost and as restraint on the growth of total liquidity is correspondingly small. However, credit card services have been referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission by the Director General of Fair Trading.