29. Miss Wardasked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will assess the calorific value of coal for domestic consumption in the 12 months 1953–54 compared with 1952–53.
§ Mr. Geoffrey LloydI regret that these figures are not available.
Miss WardWill my right hon. Friend kindly see that they are made available? May I ask why it has taken so long—indeed, so long that we have had, on the North-East coast, a strike of coal merchants against the quality of coal delivered to them—for him to examine the running of this very inefficient machine?
§ Mr. LloydThe matter to which my hon. Friend refers is the responsibility of the Coal Board. As I said earlier, I have inquired into it, and I hope it will be avoided and that in future there will be more rapid working of the machinery for altering the grading of coal.