§ 4. Mr. Ridsdaleasked the Minister of Power why he will not reject the proposal to increase the price of domestic coal, in view of the fact that productivity in the coal industry has increased by 3 per cent. during 1961.
§ 9. Mr. P. Browneasked the Minister of Power why he accepted the proposal of the Chairman of the National Coal Board to increase the price of domestic coal.
§ Mr. WoodProductivity rose by 3 per cent. in 1961, but the Board had a deficit of about £15 million and it needs increased income to offset the high costs of producing some of its coals. At its meeting on 21st February, the Domestic Coal Consumers' Council accepted with regret the need for higher house coal 914 prices, but recommended changes in the way the Board's proposals should be applied. I am now considering the Council's recommendation.
§ Mr. RidsdaleIs not this moving away from the object of an incomes policy, which is to keep prices stable, and is it to be wondered that the public find it very confusing when the Chairman of the National Coal Board in October said that during the time he is in office he was not going to raise the price of coal, and next day the price of industrial coal went up by £1 per ton, and then, a few days later, he pledged that there would be no further increase in the price of coal and in January the price of domestic coal went up by 10s. a ton? What is the reason for these apparently misleading statements?
§ Mr. WoodThe statements by the Chairman of the National Coal Board were not, in fact, misleading. He was speaking of general increases in the prices of coal. What have so far taken place have been the selective increases in prices of industrial coal, and I am now considering, as I said in my Answer, a proposal to increase some prices of domestic coals. The reason why the National Coal Board believes that these increases are necessary is that it is necessary to offset the high cost of producing these coals by raising the price of them.
§ Mr. BrowneAm I not right in saying that these are increases in the prices of normal consumer coal? Secondly, is it not rather a strange policy to adopt if this industry is in particularly fierce competition with oil? Finally, is my right hon. Friend aware that, in spite of the efforts of the National Assistance Board, an increase in the price of domestic coal bears very heavily on pensioners and those living on fixed incomes who are unable to buy quantities of coal and have not the places in which to store it?
§ Mr. WoodThe last part of my hon. Friends question is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance. As far as increases generally are concerned, I believe, and I think the House does, that it is essential for the Board to cover its costs, and this is the way in which it proposes to do so.
Mr. LeeWhile no one would wish to see the price of coal increased, if the right hon. Gentleman is so worried about the cost of living, does he not agree that it would have been a good idea to have opposed the Chancellor in July when he increased a whole range of prices of consumer goods?