§ 43. Mr. Osborneasked the Minister of Fuel and Power what steps he has taken to enable domestic consumers, who were not able to obtain their full quota of coal earlier in the year, to acquire the balance of fuel before the end of April; and if he is satisfied that sufficient stocks are being made available to enable this to be done.
§ Mr. RobensAs regards the first part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend gave on 26th February in reply to Questions by the hon. Member and my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Parkin). With regard to the last part of the Question, disposals by merchants, between 1st March and 10th April, were 178,000 tons greater than in the corresponding period last year. As my right hon. Friend made clear in his public statement on 26th February, we can give no guarantee that delivery of the maximum permitted quantity will everywhere be possible.
§ Mr. OsborneIs the Parliamentary Secretary aware that, in the rural areas, even the Co-operative Societies are complaining that they cannot get sufficient coal to meet their day-to-day requirements, let alone make up their arrears? Will he do something in the matter in view of the promises made earlier on?
§ Mr. RobensThe hon. Member will perhaps give us details of any such instances, because I understood that all these cases had been dealt with.