FUEL AND ELECTRICITY (CONTROL) BILL (Hansard, 6 December 1973)

§ THE MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO (LORD DRUMALBYN)
My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a third time.

§ LORD SHEPHERD
My Lords, I have one small point of which I have given private notice to the noble Lord, Lord Drumalbyn. Under this Bill, the Government are taking power to regulate, through industry, all questions concerning petroleum and by-products. Certainly under Emergency Regulations, the Government have instituted a process by which manufacturing companies are now making application for allocation of heavy fuel for use in driving equipment in their factories. My understanding is 840 that the manufacturing companies are likely to receive a certain percentage of the fuel that they consumed during a given period of this year. There are some companies who have undertaken a very large investment programme and that equipment either has just come on stream or will shortly do so. My Lords, if the allocation system is to be based on what was an average at an earlier part of this year, it means that those companies who have undertaken investment and have now got their equipment in being will be placed at a disadvantage as against those companies who have not carried out any form of investment or re-equipment; because the company that has had to reequip will need to carry the cost and charges on equipment which obviously now they will not be able to use.
My Lords, I gave notice of this point to the noble Lord, Lord Drumalbyn, because I thought that if he was in a position to make a statement on behalf of Her Majesty's Government as to their attitude, it would be very helpful indeed to those manufacturing organisations who are expressing serious concern about how they are going to keep their re-equipped factories in being and profitable during the obviously very difficult period that will face us at least in the early part of 1974.

§ LORD DRUMALBYN
My Lords, I am obliged to the noble Lord for having given me notice that he was going to raise this point. Of course I very much appreciate his anxieties about the possible effects of reductions in fuel oil deliveries to export industries and to those industries which have installed new oil-fired capacity in response to the Government's investment campaign, or indeed have installed plant which use the products this Bill deals with or those which are derived from petroleum fuels.
My Lords, as far as firms which have made new investment are concerned, as the noble Lord is aware, the present allocation scheme allows a ground for appeal for additional allocation through the supplier to the regional office. This means that anyone who is dissatisfied, for one reason or another, will be advised, and is being advised, to get in touch with the supplying company who will investigate the complaint and make a recommendation to the Department of 841 Trade and Industry regional director. The regional director will authorise whatever supply is considered appropriate. As my right honourable friend announced yesterday some 1,100 appeals have already been dealt with. This flexibility was deliberately included, among other things, to allow for new customers as well as new investment.
Looking to the future, in drawing up new allocation schemes the Government are anxious to ensure that any cut in supplies of fuel oil which may be necessary is designed to do the least harm to the national economy. But any scheme must, of course, be capable of being put into practice. That means that it cannot be too complex. Inevitably, of course, if one is devising an allocation scheme like this in relation to the national economy, one must take into account 'priorities. With that caveat, it is expected that any scheme that is established in future will have regard to the essential needs of industry. I do not think that I can go further than that. I hope that that will satisfy the noble Lord in the meantime.