§ 50. Mr. Hamiltonasked the Minister of Fuel and Power what progress the National Coal Board has made in producing a smokeless fuel from nutty slack; and when such fuel will be available in quantity to the public.
§ The Minister of Fuel and Power (Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd)One of the main objectives of the National Coal Board's research in the field of smokeless fuel production is to widen the range of coals that can be used, but nutty slack is unlikely to prove suitable for this purpose.
§ Mr. HamiltonCan the Minister explain how this news item got into the Coal Board's magazine "Coal," which said some time ago that the Board were experimenting with nutty slack to make a smokeless fuel which would be available in quantity at an unspecified period in the future? If that is so, will the Minister now undertake to withdraw nutty slack altogether from the market, because its contribution to the fuel position must be negligible and its contribution to the making of smog quite considerable.