§ 9. Mr. Chetwyndasked the Minister of Fuel and Power what system operates in the Northern region to reimburse coal merchants with stocks of coal delivered against licences.
§ Mr. GaitskellIn the Northern region a proportion of the regional bulk allocation is set aside to provide coal to meet the estimated requirements for licences granted by local fuel overseers. From the quantities which become available each week under this arrangement merchants can draw additional supplies on presentation of the licences to the National Coal Board. Should the quantities available be insufficient for the purpose, merchants must meet the deficiency from the stocks laid down in the summer or from their normal weekly allocation.
§ Mr. ChetwyndIs my right hon. Friend aware that merchants with licences are finding great difficulty in getting the requisite amount of coal to meet those licences, and would he not allow some other system such as that which prevails elsewhere—where the merchant gets a fixed percentage of his registered customers' supplies to meet licences—to operate in the North-East?
§ Mr. GaitskellI have always understood that the merchants in the Northern region preferred that particular arrangement, but I will certainly look into the possibility of a change.