§ 25. Mr. Palmerasked the Minister of Power if he will make available figures showing the true net cost of importing oil into the United Kingdom in terms of the balance of payments over the last decade.
§ Mr. Frederick LeeThe visible deficit—that is to say the differences between the value of oil imports c.i.f. and exports f.o.b.—rose from £257 million in 1955 to £485 million last year. The cost to the balance of payments was less than these figures indicate because much of the oil imports was carried in British ships, and much of it came from United Kingdom companies' concessions overseas where the cost of producing the oil was less than the market valuation on which the Trade and Navigation Account figures are based. There were also substantial invisible earnings from the overseas business of British oil companies.
§ Mr. PalmerWould not my right hon. Friend agree that over the years the cost of bringing oil to this country has been steadily increasing, and does this not have some very important bearing on the national fuel policy which he is engaged in working out at present?
§ Mr. LeeYes, Sir. But it would be a mistake to assume that the differences I have mentioned were all a charge on the balance of payments. For instance, the international work of B.P. and Shell has a very great credit side to it in regard to balance of payments.
§ Mr. PeytonWhilst I fully appreciate the very fair way in which the right hon. Gentleman has answered that supplementary question, may I ask him whether he would consider filling in on some convenient occasion some of the details of his first Answer? I think that that would offer to his hon. Friends some badly needed illumination.
§ Mr. LeeAnybody who tries to analyse the total effect of the whole operation on balance of payments knows what a fantastic job it is. On the other hand, I have felt that we could produce more figures than have been produced and I will see whether that is now possible.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerWhen my right hon. Friend fills in the details will he fill in the details of the proportions of military expenditure incurred east of Suez in maintaining the supply of oil?
§ Mr. Philip Noel-BakerI agree with the Minister about the offsets against the gross figures on imports, but does it not remain true that there is room for more economy on balance of payments by 268 restricting the use of oil—for example, by electrifying the railways, and by using other means of producing power?
§ Mr. LeeAs my right hon. Friend knows, I am extremely keen to increase the use of coal, whether as coal itself or burnt by wire. The cost of the balance of payments is, of course, one of the very vital issues we take into account when evolving our fuel policy.