§ 23. Lieut.-Colonel Sir Thomas Mooreasked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether in view of the fact that the total quantity of petrol required to meet the standard ration is only 50,000 tons yearly and as the introduction of red petrol yields an approximate saving of 360,000 tons yearly, whether he will now double the standard ration without qualification as to usage.
§ Mr. GaitskellI am afraid the hon. and gallant Member must have misunderstood 1820 the answer which I gave to his Question on 18th November. The cost of the standard ration, when it is made available from May onwards to all motorists including those who hold supplementary allowances, is estimated to be about 360,000 tons a year, and not 50,000 tons as the hon. and gallant Member suggests.
§ Sir T. MooreAs the right hon. Gentleman suggests, this was no doubt due to the somewhat misleading reply he gave me on 18th November, but is he aware that the principle remains the same, and that this mishandling and indiscriminate handling of our petrol supplies does more harm and damage to the Government themselves, and creates more resentment amongst the people than any other single factor? Will he not reconsider the whole principle?
§ Mr. GaitskellThere was no question of misleading the hon. and gallant Member. The Question was answered perfectly correctly. The 50,000 tons related to the amount consumed in half a year by those persons not receiving supplementary allowances, and it is not a question of principle but of quantities which is involved here.
§ Mr. Joynson-HicksIs it not a fact that of the total savings as the result of the curtailment of the black market, only a small proportion has been returned to the standard ration consumers, and will not the right hon. Gentleman consider enlarging the ration?
§ Mr. GaitskellNo, Sir. A part of the saving at the beginning did go to increase our stocks for defence purposes, but from 1st May onwards the full saving will be going to the standard ration.