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Chancellor Philip Hammond was accused of pinching pennies tonight over fears 1p and 2p coins could be scrapped.

MPs claimed phasing out coppers would hit charity buckets and seaside arcades after the Tory minister launched a review questioning their future.

The Treasury said 60% of coppers are used just once before they are put in storage, piggy banks or - in 8% of cases - thrown away.

That means the Royal Mint must issue 500million coppers a year to keep them in circulation, the ‘call for evidence’ on the rise of digital payments said.

The review, which also raises questions over the future of “rarely used” £50 notes, was launched today alongside the Spring Statement.

It does not make any firm proposal to scrap any coin, and a Treasury source stressed it was “just a listening exercise”.

But the document asks directly if the current mix of eight coins and four notes meets people’s needs - and “if not, how should it change?”

Shadow Civil Society minister Steve Reed said the government must “think again”.

(Image: Getty) (Image: PA)

The Labour MP told the Mirror: “Cash is the most popular way for people to donate to charities, and much of that comes in small change like 1p and 2p coins.

“If the government goes ahead, it will directly hit the vulnerable people who rely on charities to feed, clothe, house and care for them.”

Tory MP Ian Liddell-Grainger said it would be a “mistake”, telling MailOnline: “A lot of charities live for those pennies.”

“This is a level of laziness from the Treasury. They just want to stop something, even though people still use it.”

Labour’s Peter Kyle, the MP for Hove, said: “We need to get this right otherwise charities and sectors that rely on the loose change people carry with them could be affected.

“Some of these are traditional tourist destinations like Brighton Pier so let’s not do anything hasty that could damage the great day out at the British seaside.”

(Image: PA)

His constituency neighbour Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, added: “Of all of the challenges facing people in Brighton this isn’t necessarily the most pressing.

“However I do think it would be a great shame to lose our 2p machines on the pier - and wonder if the government hasn’t just found another way to ruin peoples’ fun.”

John White, chief executive of arcades trade association Bacta, said removing the coins would mean “the extinction of an active British pastime” - the 2p pusher machine.

He added: “Thousands of families visit our coastal arcades during the summer to play 2p pushers, it would be a shame to deprive them the experience and lose a part of our cultural identity.“

The call for evidence, which runs until June for firms and members of the public, pledges to ensure “the public’s legitimate cash needs continue to be met”.

But it also warns the rise of digital and contactless payments - which has left 11% of people aged 25-34 rarely using cash - could have “profound implications for the most vulnerable”.

(Image: Image Source)

5 facts about copper coins English copper coins have been in use since at least the 1600s

The decimal 1p entered circulation on 15 February 1971 and was labelled "new pence" until 1982

But since 1992 they have been made mostly of steel with a thin copper plate due to metal prices

An angry resident of Eastwood, Notts, offered to pay £1,851.94 of council tax in 1p coins in 2016

They are only legal tender in amounts up to 20p - to let shops reject wheelbarrows of cash

The decline in cash purchases under £5 has been “much more significant” than in higher-value sales, hitting transport, pubs and restaurants, the document said.

Meanwhile processors are “holding increasingly large stocks” of coins in storage.

This stockpile “does not contribute to an efficient or cost effective cash cycle”, the document warned.

No decisions or set proposals have been made, and any plan to scrap coppers would likely have to go through a separate second consultation some time after June. There is no timescale beyond June.

Ex-Chancellor George Osborne reportedly came within weeks of scrapping the penny in late 2015 but was blocked by David Cameron.

Downing Street did not answer when asked if the penny was safe under Theresa May tonight.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I am told this is a call for evidence, intended to enable the Government to better understand the role of cash and digital payments in the new economy and that it is not proposing any specific policy changes.”