Government decides to save the pennies
Charities helped by 1p and 2p donations had spoken out in favour of keeping maligned copper coins
The Government has reassured the public that it will not scrap 1p and 2p coins, following an outcry from MPS and the charity sector. The possibility of scrapping coppers was proposed by the Treasury on Tuesday as Philip Hammond signalled a consultation on the future of cash and digital payments. According to the consultation document, about 8 per cent of coppers are thrown in the bin. But there were fears that charities and arcades would be among those that would suffer.
THE Government has reassured the public that it will not scrap 1p and 2p coins, following an outcry from MPS and the charity sector.
The possibility of scrapping coppers was proposed by the Treasury on Tuesday as Philip Hammond’s Spring Statement signalled the launch of a consultation on the future of cash and digital payments. According to the consultation document, about eight per cent of coppers are thrown in the bin.
However, the idea raised fears that it could hurt charities, small businesses and arcades, which rely on people spending their spare change.
Sir John Low, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said: “Cash is still by far the most common way people donate to charity, so the forecast in HM Treasury’s consultation document on cash and digital payments, suggesting that cash transactions will more than halve from 12billion transactions a year to 5.8billion between 2016 and 2026, could have a real impact on charities if people carry less cash to give away.
“A consultation on cash is a good opportunity for government and charities to work together to embrace new technologies and ensure the decline of cash doesn’t get in the way of people’s desire to be generous.”
Wes Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North, said: “After eight years of the Tories, working people have fewer pounds in their pocket. That’s not enough for this penny-pincher Chancellor – he wants to take away people’s one and two pennies too. He should leave well alone and focus on getting the economy back on track.”
But yesterday a Downing Street spokesman offered reassurance that pennies were safe. He said: “There are no proposals to scrap one or two pence coins. The call for evidence is simply intended to enable the Government to better understand the role of cash and digital payments in the new economy. One thing the Treasury were seeking views on was whether the current denominational mix of coins meets the public’s needs and from the early reaction it looks as if it does.
“The Government welcomes all contributions to the debate and will respond fully after the call for evidence closes on June 5.”
It emerged last year that George Osborne had come close to scrapping copper coins in 2015 when he was chancellor, but he was blocked by David Cameron. Downing Street had worried that the “symbolism” of the Conservatives scrapping the coins would be a vote loser.
More than 500 million 1p and 2p coins are produced every year.