Oral Answers to Questions — National Finance. – in the House of Commons at on 9 September 1941.
Mr William Craven-Ellis
, Southampton
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer whether he can give an explanation for the decline in the total of war savings from small investors at a time when money wages were never higher?
Sir Kingsley Wood
, Woolwich West
The weekly figure for small savings during August, 1941, was 23 per cent, higher than that for August, 1940. Although for some time past it was less than in the early months of this year, the main reasons were, in my view, the holiday season and the fact that, by the end of May, the great Majority of communities had held their War Weapons Weeks. The country will, I believe, realise that the volume of savings must be raised again as quickly as possible and ascend to new high levels.
Mr William Craven-Ellis
, Southampton
In view of the fact that the payments for August this year are 23 per cent, above those for August last year, does my right hon. Friend accept that as an indication that the Government are getting more than they should from this source?
Sir Kingsley Wood
, Woolwich West
No, I hope that the payments will be considerably increased.
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.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
