§ 22. Mr. V. Yatesasked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he is satisfied that the arrangements that have been made for the supply of domestic coal to Birmingham for next winter will be adequate; and if he will make a statement.
§ 26. Mr. Gowerasked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he is satisfied that there will be adequate supplies of domestic coal in Barry next winter; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Geoffrey LloydAs I advised the House on 20th June, all possible steps are being taken to build up adequate supplies of coal for next winter, but it is too early to make any statement on the prospects for any one type of consumer.
§ Mr. YatesIs the Minister aware that right up to date in Birmingham there has been practically no stocking-up by merchants, and even before the railway strike they were planning on the basis of only 20 cwt. in the summer? Is not that an alarming situation in Birmingham? Will the right hon. Gentleman examine the matter and give a reassuring statement in the very near future?
§ Mr. LloydThe fact is that we cannot have an unofficial stoppage in the Yorkshire coalfield which loses one million tons of coal and, thereafter, a railway strike which disrupts distribution of coal throughout the country without there being a disturbance to stocks of coal afterwards. A great deal of work has to be done by the National Coal Board, merchants and distributors to put that situation right. It will be got right, but some time will elapse before it is got right.
§ Mr. GowerWhilst thanking my right hon. Friend for his last assurance, may I ask him to direct particular attention to the possibility of avoiding any shortage in schools, such as occurred in one or two instances in Barry last winter?
§ Mr. LloydMost certainly, but my hon. Friend will remember that we picked up the difficulty in a school in his constituency some weeks before he did.
§ 23. Mr. V. Yatesasked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will give a general direction to the National Coal Board to improve their arrangements for the supply of suitable grades of coal for domestic consumption and making known to householders what grades are available.
§ Mr. Geoffrey LloydNo, Sir. These matters fall within the responsibility of the National Coal Board and the coal merchants.
§ Mr. YatesWhy cannot the Minister take some steps to enable householders to have some choice in the coal which is being delivered? Why should they be compelled to accept some of the shoddy stuff that is being sent to them? Why cannot the right hon. Gentleman issue instructions that there should be some list by which the various grades of coal can be known?
§ Mr. LloydI am surprised that the hon. Member should be so critical of the work of the National Coal Board, which is doing its very best in this matter.
§ 28. Major Anstruther-Grayasked the Minister of Fuel and Power the present level of coal stocks in Scotland compared with the figure 12 months ago.
§ Mr. Geoffrey LloydDistributed stocks at 11th June totalled 962,000 tons, compared with 1,043,000 tons a year ago.
§ Major Anstruther-GrayIs my right hon. Friend confident that he will be able to maintain adequate stocks for the winter?
§ Mr. LloydI said something about that earlier, and I explained the amount of work that has to be done as a result of the railway strike and the Yorkshire unofficial coal stoppage. Taking that into consideration, the stocks in Scotland at the moment, compared with those of a year ago, are not unsatisfactory.
§ Mr. HamiltonIs the Minister aware that his answers to many of these Questions seem to confirm the prophecy made by "Cross Bencher" in yesterday's "Sunday Express"?