23. Mr. HENDERSONasked the reason why, under the Household Fuel and Lighting Order, the offence for over charging for coal is confined to sales to consumers, and is not applicable to any purchaser so as to include merchants' sales to the hawker and dealer?
§ Sir A. GEDDESThe right hon. Member is, I think, under some misapprehension. The price of household coal is controlled from the pit to the consumer without regard to the number of intermediaries.
§ Mr. PEMBERTON BILLINGIs there any control of bunkerage coal, and, if not, can coal vendors sell household coal and receive bunkerage prices?
§ Sir A. GEDDESNo, Sir. Bunker prices are not controlled. They are now at the world level. There is a certain check kept by agreement amongst vendors that prices are not allowed to rise quite to the full extent of the world price, but there is substantially no control.
§ Mr. BILLINGWould an engineer or a shipowner have a case for profiteering against a firm if he is charged £a 12s. per ton for bunker coal?
§ Sir A. GEDDESI will look into that, but probably I think not.