Part of Oral Answers to Questions — National Finance – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 8 July 1947.
Mr Alfred Bossom
, Maidstone
12:00,
8 July 1947
asked the Chancellor of the exchequer (1) if he has now considered the evidence sent him of the price at which the pound sterling could be bought at the Chase National Bank in New York; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will instruct his representatives to go to a national bank in New York, Brussels and Berne and ascertain at what price English £'s can be purchased in terms of the national currency and not on the so-called pegged rate of exchange; and if he will report the result of these inquiries to the House.
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.
