17. Mr. R. Gresham Cookeasked the Minister of Power to what extent, expressed as a percentage, the National Coal Board and the Gas Council, respectively, are able to meet the annual cost of replacement of plant out of their own resources.
§ Mr. WoodBetween vesting date and 1959, the National Coal Board provided from internal resources about 45 per cent. and the gas boards, taken together, about 37 per cent. of their expenditure on fixed assets. Over the period 1959 to 1965, both industries expect the ratio to average about 70 per cent.
Mr. Gresham CookeIf this refers to replacement of plant, the figures prior to the immediate present were a matter of some concern. Can my right hon. Friend indicate whether the financial position of the Board and the Council is improving as regards replacement of plant?
§ Mr. WoodThe ratio in the answer is expressed by reference to total fixed investment, but, for reasons which my hon. Friend knows, it is difficult to distinguish between replacement and new investments in these industries. I ask him to remember that both these industries have carried out programmes of major reconstruction which have made it extremely difficult for them in the past to achieve a higher rate of self-financing than the figures I have mentioned.