HC Deb 28 November 1960 vol 631 cc10-2
17. Mr. Marten

asked the Minister of Power how much money has been spent by Messrs. Richard Thomas and Baldwin on capital development at Newport for the specific purpose of receiving and handling Oxfordshire iron ore.

Mr. Wood

I understand the company has spent about £250,000 and is committed to spend a further £1,350,000 for this purpose, but I am told the plant can, if necessary, handle ore from other sources.

Mr. Marten

Can my right hon. Friend say why this expenditure was authorised before the result of this inquiry was announced? Does he not think that possibly Richard Thomas and Baldwin were trying to influence the result of the inquiry?

Mr. Wood

I should like to make it perfectly clear, if it is suggested that this expenditure was incurred in order to blackmail the Minister of Housing and Local Government, that anyone who knows my right hon. Friend would think that was ineffective; but the company was in the position that it had to make plans in order to be in time to receive ore, and, as I have told my hon. Friend, I am informed by the company, having made inquiries about this, that if the decision were to go against it, there would have been incurred very little nugatory expenditure.

Mr. Kimball

Is my right hon. Friend aware that many people feel that, provided the price of imported foreign ore is kept within reasonable bounds by the supplying companies, there is very little justification for further exploitation of the opencast iron ore mining in the Midlands in this country, and that those valuable seams should be kept as a strategic reserve?

Mr. Wood

This is a matter for the inquiry, and my hon. Friend will not expect me to pronounce upon it today.

Dr. Stross

I wonder if the right hon. Gentleman has noted that if this scheme were carried out to the full the ground in this area, a very beautiful area, would be let down about 8 ft. overall and that it would mean the destruction of trees and the flattening out of natural hills. Is it really worth it? Is not the hon. Gentleman the Member for Gains-borough (Mr. Kimball) quite right in suggesting that we should be better served if we built large carriers to bring the ore in from abroad and kept ours as a reserve?

Mr. Wood

I think that there was a certain amount of discussion of this point at the inquiry.

Mr. Lee

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell us what would be the effect on the balance of payments if indeed we were to discard home-produced ore in favour of imported ore?

Mr. Wood

I could not give that information without notice, I am afraid.