§ 2.40 p.m.
§ THE MINISTER OF POWER (LORD MILLS)My Lords, I think your Lordships would wish to know of the latest assessment of the oil situation which was given yesterday in another place. With the permission of the House I will make a statement.
The Government have reviewed petrol rationing and other restrictions on oil consumption in the light of the latest supply position and have decided that the improved prospects warrant some relaxations. Supplies of petrol, although increasing, are still likely to remain short of normal demand, and it is therefore not possible to abolish petrol rationing at once. Nevertheless, the improved supplies are sufficient to allow the basic ration for private cars to be increased by 50 per cent. to 300 miles a month in the next rationing period beginning on April 17. This will benefit all motorists, whether they use the extra mileage for business purposes or for their holidays. In addition, the improved supplies will be taken into account in assessing claims for supplementary allowances and in dealing with applications in respect of passenger and goods vehicles requiring petrol.
Supplies of gas/diesel oil are now sufficient to enable the coupon rationing 592 scheme for Derv fuel and the other cuts on gas/diesel supplies to be brought to an end on April 1. But stocks in the hands of the oil companies must be built up during the summer to meet next winter's demands and with this end in view the companies have been asked to limit their sales to customers to minimum current needs. It is still necessary for consumers to exercise all possible economies; otherwise it may become necessary to prescribe a measure of under-delivery by the companies.
Fuel oil supplies are still below normal and stocks must be rebuilt before next winter. Although, therefore, there is no longer any danger of an increase in the present level of cuts, they must remain in force for the time being, subject to one minor relaxation in regard to fuel oil for space and water heating where the present cut of 25 per cent. will be reduced to one of 10 per cent., with effect from April 1.
The additional supplies which have made these relaxations possible have been procured only at higher cost. This is reflected in the price increases announced by the oil companies yesterday. In the case of petrol the increase is 1d. per gallon on the retail price.
§ 2.44 p.m.
§ LORD LUCAS OF CHILWORTHMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for the courtesy he has shown your Lordships' House in making this statement to-day—he could not make it in your Lordships' House yesterday. He will not mind if I offer one or two criticisms. I do not wish to look a gift horse entirely in the mouth, but I think he has treated with less than justice and equity that section of the motoring community—the private motorist—who, for one reason or another, perhaps studying the national interest or feeling that they could not make out a sufficiently good case for a supplementary ration, have tried to exist during this rationing period on the basic ration alone. Both they and that class of motorist who could not afford to run his motor car on a 200 miles a month allowance are getting very short shrift with the noble Lord's rather meagre increase of 50 per cent.
Would the noble Lord accept a suggestion from me that the private motor car basic ration alone be increased 100 per cent.? The noble Lord knows very well that the basic ration and the unit can be increased or decreased at any time that 593 he wishes. Why does he wait until April 17 to do this? Why not immediately? We all know that there are ample supplies to cover it. Why end one rationing period on April 1, as he has done with diesel oil, and wait until April 17 to give the same concession to the private motorist? I would suggest to the noble Lord that he could do this overnight. It would help him in another direction. It would syphon off the extra demand that might arise if there is a bank-up, or continued bank-up, of coupons at the holiday period. May I ask him one other question? What does he intend to do with the basic ration of petrol for the petrol-driven commercial vehicle? He surely cannot allow the diesel-engined commercial vehicle to be coupon-free and ration-free, whereas the petrol-driven commercial vehicle is still subjected to a petrol ration. Of course, I am not so concerned with the commercial vehicle because we all know that now the commercial vehicle operator can get on a supplementary ration nearly as much petrol as he wants.
I have one last question—though I rather anticipate the answer, which is the formula at this time of the year, that he cannot anticipate his right honourable friend's Budget Statement. What does he intend to do about the tax? Surely it is implicit, if the tax is going to be taken off when fuel rationing ends, that, if the fuel ration is half taken off, half the tax should be taken off? Or are all the critics—and I include myself—who said that tying the 1s. a gallon tax to petrol rationing would mean not that the 1s. tax came off earlier, but that rationing stayed on later, now going to be proved true? My final word to the noble Lord is this. I would not recommend him to do without the rationing system. If he did, he would be running a risk which we in this country cannot yet afford to run. To disband the system would be wrong, but I would suggest to the noble Lord that the private motorist who has forgone any supplementary, has not gone into the black market and has tried to make do with this meagre 200 miles-a-month ration, is deserving of better treatment than he is now receiving at the hands of the noble Lord.
§ EARL HOWEMy Lords, may I be allowed to ask the noble Lord a question or two about this matter? The noble Lord will probably have seen the tape 594 to-day. He will have seen that in Germany they have reduced the price of petrol. In connection with petrol rationing, there are two things: there is the amount of petrol and there is the amount one has to pay for it. Cannot the noble Lord do something on the lines the noble Lord, Lord Lucas of Chilworth, has just suggested? Why keep the ration down to just a 50 per cent. rise? Why cannot the existing ration be doubled? Secondly, in the cost of petrol, the motorist is subjected to the purely inflationary levy of 1s. a gallon. May I ask the noble Lord whether, as he price of petrol goes up, as it was announced yesterday it would, by 1d. a gallon, the 1s. a gallon tax could be reduced by the amount by which the cost of petrol rises. Could not the noble Lord possibly see his way to give consideration to these two points?
§ LORD MILLSMy Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Lucas of Chilworth, for his most helpful suggestions—indeed, if I may say so, I always find him most helpful in what he has to advise. But unfortunately, I have to deal with the facts of the supply situation, and I have to take into account two factors. When the noble Lord and the noble Earl, Lord Howe, hear these two factors I think they will see why I cannot accept their advice. The first is the question of stocks. It is said that our stocks are plentiful. I am glad to say that they are in a satisfactory state, but they are still rather below normal. The second factor is the question of supplies. Although supplies have been better than we anticipated, they are still below normal. Perhaps there is even a third factor to take into account—that at this time of the year, if petrol is free, consumption is liable to rise very steeply indeed.
Having considered all these factors, we have come to the conclusion that the utmost we can afford is to increase the basic ration for the next rationing period by 50 per cent., and not by any greater figure. Not only should I like to see a greater figure; I should like to see the end of rationing. For the same reason it is not possible to accept the suggestion that the value of existing coupons in the present rationing period should also be increased by 50 per cent. I can appreciate the inequalities that arise out of a rationing system. One of the reasons 595 why we should like to see the end of a rationing system is because we on this side of the House, as is true of those on the other side of the House, do not believe in inequalities. But they do arise. I am conscious of the case of the motorist who laid up his car, or who did not ask for supplementary allowances. Had it been administratively possible, one might have considered their case further. But I would remind your Lordships that it is only because of the co-operation of the public that petrol rationing is in the satisfactory state that it is to-day.
The noble Lord, Lord Lucas of Chilworth, mentioned the question of petrol-driven commercial vehicles. I dealt with that in my statement and said that we would take into account the improved supplies in dealing with the applications for supplementary allowances in respect of passenger and goods vehicles requiring petrol. Then the noble Earl, Lord Howe, mentioned the fact that Germany had reduced the price of petrol. I had not seen that news on the tape, having had no particular reason to look at the tape. But this is the cheapest country in Europe for petrol, and it may well be that elsewhere the price may be reduced. So far as the tax is concerned, I think all that noble Lords will expect me to say is that I will see that their views are forwarded to the right quarter.
§ EARL HOWEMay I ask the noble Lord one other question? He referred to the next rationing period. I understand that the next rationing period is to run for four months—is that correct? Does not the noble Lord look forward to a still further betterment in the situation in the period from April to August? If the position gets better, would not the noble Lord be able to deal far more leniently with petrol rationing than he has so far indicated? A 50 per cent. rise means 300 miles a month, as against 200 miles. Could the noble Lord not hold out a little more hope than just to say that the 300 miles standard, if I may so call it, is to run for another four months? Could not we be told that we may hope to get a still further betterment of the situation, perhaps in the middle of April?
§ LORD MILLSMy Lords, in reply to the noble Earl, I think he would be wrong in assuming that petrol rationing 596 is necessarily going to last for four months. Coupons for six months are being issued, but four months' coupons may be used. I repeat that we will end rationing just so soon as the supply and stock position make it possible. It may be one month; it may be two months; it may be four months, or six months. No-one can tell. But at the earliest possible moment it will be done, and I would much prefer to see that than to have to consider again increasing the value of coupons.
§ LORD WINSTERMy Lords, with reference to the statement which the noble Lord has just made, that stocks are insufficient, may I ask whether he can confirm or deny information which reaches me, through officers of the Merchant Navy that tankers arriving in this country are being diverted abroad because of insufficient storage here at home?
§ LORD MILLSMy Lords, in answer to the noble Lord, I think this information must arise from the fact that we still do a large trade in oil with Europe; and I think the tanker movements to which he refers can only be in pursuance of that trade.
§ LORD LUCAS OF CHILWORTHMy Lords, before leaving this subject, may I ask the noble Lord this question? Would he give the House an assurance that he will not close the door completely to a reconsideration of the question of allowing this increase in the basic ration to operate before April 17? If I understood him aright, he said he would do it "if it was administratively possible." Having some experience of departmental organisation in regard to this matter, I can assure him that it is administratively possible. Would he balance this factor with what the Government are losing in taxation revenue from the licences on motor cars that are laid up? That sum might not be insignificant, and the Government cannot afford to "turn up their noses" at it. That might be balanced against the bringing forward by the time I have stipulated of this concession increase of at least 50 per cent. Will the noble Lord give the House the assurance that he will at least give that point his serious consideration?
§ LORD MILLSMy Lords, I think the noble Lord has misunderstood me. I 597 never said it was administratively impossible to consider increasing the present ration by 50 per cent.: I said it was impossible because of the stock and supply position. I said it was administratively impossible to consider cases such as those of motorists who had laid up their cars or, for one reason or another, had not asked for supplementary allowances. That is quite a different thing.
§ LORD LUCAS OF CHILWORTHMy Lords, will the noble Lord take into consideration the thousands of gallons of petrol which to-day are sold by dealers all over the country without coupons, because they were over-stocked before rationing started, and which might be allowed to go to the legitimate holder of coupons on a 50 per cent. increase?
§ LORD MILLSMy Lords, I can assure the noble Lord that this matter has my daily consideration, but I do not think that we should confuse stocks at individual garages with the overall stock position with which we are concerned in administering a rationing system.
§ LORD WINSTERMy Lords, with reference to the reply which the noble Lord has been so kind as to give me, would it not indicate that the needs of foreign customers are being put before our own needs?
§ LORD MILLSMy Lords, I believe the noble Lord would be quite wrong in arriving at that assumption. We have a very valuable trade in oil, both from the balance of payments point of view and from the point of view of tradition, with many countries in Europe, and we are right to keep that up. Moreover, the whole overall position is watched by the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, so that there is no danger of the kind which the noble Lord fears.