§ 5. Mr. Edwin Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he can now state when the existing arrangements for the importation of coal will be concluded.
§ Mr. Tom BoardmanImports have fallen sharply in recent months but we are keeping a close watch on the position.
§ Mr. WainwrightDoes the Minister realise that there is a strong rumour running through the coal mining industry that there is a possibility of 50 pits being closed in the next two or three years even though there are coal reserves there? is he not aware that at the present time the Government are converting coal-fired power stations to oil and that there is a continuation and an increase of imported foreign oil and that the mining industry has to compete with North Sea gas and North Sea oil? Does he not therefore think it time that we had a national fuel policy on terms favourable to our home-produced indigenous fuels?
§ Mr. BoardmanI am sure the hon. Member would not expect me to comment on speculative reports which may be going around. On the question of imports, I am sure he will also agree that it is necessary to keep extra flexibility as an insurance by way of imports, and that he will recognise that some imports, for example of coking coal, will be needed to supplement United Kingdom supplies on quality grounds.
§ Mr. NormantonWill my hon. Friend inform the House about the excellent opportunities which will be available to an efficient coal mining industry in Britain, and that those opportunities might well be at risk were protectionist policies to be promoted by the Government?
§ Mr. BoardmanOf course my hon. Friend is absolutely right. For example, in Europe alone imports are some 30 million tons per annum of which at the moment we supply only 2½ million tons. I hope that this is a market of which we can get a greater share.
§ Mr. VarleyWhile agreeing with a lot of what my hon. Friend the Member for Dearne Valley (Mr. Edwin Wainwright) 1230 has said may I ask whether the Minister realises that there is a great deal of hostility in the mining industry to the import of coal? Can the Minister tell us what guidance he is offering to the Central Electricity Generating Board and the British Steel Corporation about their coal imports? Would it not be advisable if the Minister could talk not only to those two industries but to the National Coal Board to see how best an overall importing policy could be co-ordinated to safeguard the position of all three industries?
§ Mr. BoardmanI believe it is right to put the figures into perspective. While imports of coal last year were running at a high level following the immediate post-strike period, they have been falling rapidly and were only 500,000 tons in May and 400,000 tons in June. Arrangements between the National Coal Board, the CEGB and the BSC are for each of those industries to consider. They have been considering and discussing them, and I believe that there can be proper commercial arrangements in the interests of all three industries.