§ 21. Mr. Stokesasked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he is now in a position to make a statement regarding the basis of profits paid by the Petroleum Board to the oil industry; and whether he will name the figure arrived at for the value of capital employed in the industry?
Major Lloyd GeorgeIn authorising prices to be charged by the Petroleum Board I have decided on the amount to be included in these prices to represent the remuneration of the Petroleum Board which they will distribute among their member companies. This remuneration will be at the rate of 7½ per cent. on the adjusted value of the physical capital of the Board and on the working capital ascertained as employed before the war by the companies which came together to form the Petroleum Board. In view of the advent of Lease-Lend, deductions will be made from that working capital as from 1424 July, 1941, to make allowance for the fact that some petroleum products are supplied to the Board by H.M. Government. Arrangements are now being made for the accounts of the Board to be drawn up retrospectively on this basis, except that, to allow for the transition from peacetime to war-time working, the provisional arrangements hitherto authorised will be allowed to stand for the period September, 1939, to June, 1940. The adjusted value of the physical assets of the Petroleum Board is approximately £23,000,000, and the peace-time working capital has been assessed at £28,000,000.