§ 33. Lieut.-Commander Gurney Braithwaiteasked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will appoint a regional officer for the East Riding of Yorkshire.
§ Mr. GaitskellNo, Sir.
§ Lieut.-Commander BraithwaiteMay I ask the Minister whether he is aware that, owing to the intense pressure on his Leeds office, which covers such a wide area, there is inordinate delay in dealing with cases from the East Riding, and that decisions which have been given have showed an almost complete ignorance of the geography of the area?
§ Mr. GaitskellThere was a serious delay in the later months of 1947, not only in Leeds but in other offices as well, but I am glad to say that the delay has now been very considerably reduced. Setting up a separate office for the East Riding would not reduce the delay; if it would, I would consider it, but I am quite certain it would make things worse.
§ Mr. WadsworthIs the Minister aware that the regional office in the City of Leeds is a considerable distance from many parts of the East Riding; and, furthermore, judging from the number of letters that I receive, there is a lack of understanding of the problems of rural districts in the minds of those who deal with applications in Leeds, which is the centre of a very large industrial area from which most applications come?
§ Mr. GaitskellI could not accept the assumptions on which the hon. Member is speaking.
§ Mr. OdeyWill the Minister bear in mind in this matter that there are 300,000 citizens of Hull whose needs are being administered from Leeds, which is 55 miles away, and is he aware of the great inconvenience and hardship caused to them?
§ Lieut.-Commander BraithwaiteOn a point of Order. In view of the completely obtuse nature of the answer, I beg to give notice that I will raise this matter on the Motion for the Adjournment.
§ 37 and 38. Mr. Peter Robertsasked the Minister of Fuel and Power (1) whether he will give power to the Sheffield petroleum office to deal with petrol applications from the Sheffield area, instead of such applications being dealt with from Leeds as at present;
(2) whether, in view of local dissatisfaction at recent decisions, he will instruct his Leeds petroleum office to administer the supplementary petrol allowance in a fair and equitable manner as regards applications made from the Sheffield area.
§ Mr. GaitskellThere is no petroleum office at Sheffield, and I have no reason to think that applicants residing in Sheffield are treated differently in any way from other applicants in the North-Eastern Region.
§ Mr. RobertsIs the Minister aware that there is grave dissatisfaction in Sheffield over this matter; that letters take a long time to be answered from Leeds; that desperate journeys have been taken to Leeds, but the applicants have not been granted an interview; and will he consider the convenience of the people of Sheffield rather than the convenience of officials in Leeds?
§ Mr. GaitskellI really cannot accept these aspersions on the officials in Leeds, who are completely impartial in their attitude. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that setting up a separate office in Sheffield would mean more delay.
§ Lieut.-Commander BraithwaiteHas the Minister now discovered the difference between Leeds and Sheffield?
§ Mr. AsshetonDoes the Minister appreciate that the Government's policy has really broken down his own administrative machine?
§ Mr. RobertsIn view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I will raise the matter on the Motion for the Adjournment.