HC Deb 16 February 1953 vol 511 c862
15. Mr. Hamilton

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what solid fuels are available to domestic consumers which are cheaper than nutty slack; how such fuels compare with nutty slack in calorific value; and whether they are freely available.

Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd

Nutty slack is the cheapest solid fuel freely available; only small lots of cheaper fuel are to be found from time to time in particular places.

Mr. Hamilton

How does the Minister account for the letter which I sent to him from a coal merchant a week or two ago in which he said that the public should ask for wharf smalls as it was a cheaper fuel than nutty slack? I am quite sure, without any expert knowledge at all, that the calorific value is bound to be very much higher.

Mr. Lloyd

I am afraid I could not necessarily agree with the latter part of the question. Wharf smalls are only to be found from time to time. They are just the waste from the depot.