Oral Answers to Questions — National Finance – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 24 Mawrth 1955.
Mr Norman Dodds
, Dartford
12:00,
24 Mawrth 1955
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer the purchasing value of the £ sterling at the latest convenient date when compared with 20s. in October, 1951; and the comparable figure for October, 1953, and October, 1954.
Mr Reginald Maudling
, Barnet
Taking the internal purchasing power of the £ sterling as 20s. in October, 1951, it is estimated that the corresponding figure for February, 1955, was 18s. 5d., and for October, 1953, and October, 1954, 19s. 2d. and 18s. 8d. respectively. This estimate is based on the Consumer Price Index and the Interim Index of Retail Prices.
Mr Norman Dodds
, Dartford
What a shocking confession of failure.
Brigadier Ralph Rayner
, Totnes
In order that this matter may be put into proper perspective, will my hon. Friend consider publishing in the Monthly Digest of Statistics a six-monthly account of the progress of the £ since the end of the war?
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
