HC Deb 05 December 1956 vol 561 cc1217-8
19. Mr. Ernest Davies

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he is satisfied that essential road haulage services can be fully maintained with the allocations proposed under the rationing scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Watkinson

Road transport generally will suffer reductions in supplies of fuel but the issue of supplementary rations will be designed to enable essential traffics which must go by road to be moved.

Mr. Davies

That may be the intention of the Minister, but how does he consider it will be possible for the very large number of small operators, whom the Government have encouraged to come back into the road haulage industry, to continue to operate, in view of the very high price of petrol and the limited supplies which they will receive? Would not the country be far better off today if there were a co-ordinated road and rail service and if the industry had not been atomised in this way?

Mr. Watkinson

The hon. Gentleman is wrong, because the main hope of our getting through this difficulty satisfactorily is by the maximum amount of mutual aid and self-help, for which private enterprise is well equipped.

Mr. Davies

If these small operators are unable to operate profitably, because of the high price and shortage of petrol, will they not have to go out of business, and will that not mean that there will be a large amount of traffic taken off the roads, and that there may not be alternative facilities?

Mr. Watkinson

I cannot agree with that question either. The answer is that neither the price nor the ration should stop essential goods being moved by road.

Mr. Gresham Cooke

Will not small operators get the same percentage of previous fuel as large operators get, and also will not small operators be allowed to increase their charges to meet their new costs?

Mr. Watkinson

They will get exactly the same treatment as everybody else, but I must make it plain that the treatment is on the essentiality of what they are doing, and not necessarily on the ration.

Mr. Nabarro

A very good Tory answer, for all that.