Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications for 65+ Guaranteed Growth Bonds his Department estimated it would receive; how many applications for such bonds have been received; what estimate he made of how much time it would take to process each application for such bonds; and how long it is taking to process each such application.

HM Treasury estimated that £10bn of the 65+ bond would help over a million pensioners.

The original scheme was extended on Sunday 8 February the Chancellor announced the Government will extend the availability of the Bonds. Following the unprecedented demand - which has made this the biggest sale of any retail financial product in Britain's modern history - the Bonds will now be on sale until 15 May 2015.

Applications are received through the internet, by phone and by post, and have different processing times. Transactions undertaken over the internet and by phone receive a debit card receipt confirming that the funds have been taken within a few hours, and they will receive an email confirmation within two days. It takes between 7 and 10 days to process a postal application, this timeframe includes 2 days for the postal delivery service.