§ 9. Sir Waldron Smithersasked the Minister of Fuel and Power why American coal, which costs £5 10s. per ton plus transport charges, was sold to the Dumfries Lunatic Asylum at 40s. 6d. per ton; and who pays the difference.
§ Mr. GaitskellThe cost of imported American coal, including ocean freight, is unlikely to exceed £5 a ton. The price charged by the National Coal Board to consumers of this coal is similar to that for comparable British coal. As already announced, the resulting loss falls upon the National Coal Board and it was partly in order to cover tin's loss that the Board were recently obliged to raise prices generally.
§ Sir W. SmithersDoes the right hon. Gentleman realise that the loss must eventually fall on the taxpayer, and is all imported American coal being sold to the public and institutions' at less than cost price? Will he also ask his fellow Members on the Front Bench whether they ought not to be committed to the institution mentioned in the Question?
§ Mr. GaitskellThe price of the coal imported from America, as I have already explained, is fixed so that it will sell here at the same price as British coal. That is obviously a fair thing to do; the burden is then evenly spread among all British consumers.
§ Mr. H. HyndWill my right hon. Friend try to give a more sympathetic reply to the spokesman for that lunatic asylum?