§ 2.45 p.m.
§ LORD TANLAWMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government how many days' supply of crude oil and oil products are currently held as reserve stock in the United Kingdom.
§ THE MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO (LORD DRUMALBYN)My Lords, E.E.C. Directive No. 68/414 requires that stocks of oil adequate for 65 days, based on the previous year's rate of consumption, should be maintained by member countries. It is the policy of Her Majesty's Government that this requirement should be met through voluntary agreement with the oil companies. A further Directive (72/425) last December required the level of stocks held to be increased to 90 days' consumption with effect from January 1, 1975, and the Government are taking steps to secure that this requirement will be met. It is not the normal practice to disclose the exact quantity of stocks maintained at any given time.
§ LORD TANLAWMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for that answer, may I ask him whether he is prepared to say what proportion of those stocks are kept for strategic reserves in this country?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNNo my Lords; I am not prepared to say that.
§ LORD AVEBURYMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord why it is the practice 408 to disclose pithead stocks of coal, but not to give to the House, and to the country as a whole, the equivalent figures for oil?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, partly because we produce our own coal, and at present we are buying oil from abroad.
§ LORD DAVIES OF LEEKMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether the Government—and it behoves any Government in power—are now prepared to look in depth into the energy policy, to build up the pattern of using economically our oil, water and energy resources? Are any steps being taken, maybe not to complete but at least to begin a study in depth of this vital problem of sources of energy supplies for the Britiish people?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, that is perhaps a little wide of the original Question, but I can assure the noble Lord that this is a matter that is constantly being considered by the Government, and of course the E.E.C. are also in search of an energy policy.
§ LORD TANLAWMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether his reply is part of a comprehensive energy policy produced by the Government? If so, where can I get a copy, or some means of finding out where this policy is written down?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, because an energy policy is a matter of day-to-day development it is not necessarily written down.
§ LORD TANLAWMy Lords, an energy policy is something that is far from a day-to-day policy. It is something between now and the next 25 years. Is the noble Lord saying in his reply that there is at the moment no energy policy to which noble Lords are able to look for information of the kind for which I have asked this afternoon?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNNo, my Lords. What I am saying is that there is not an energy policy that is written down, simply because this is bound to change all the time in the light of changing circumstances.
§ LORD BYERSMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether there is a medium or long-term policy existing in this country, or not? 409 Government are charged with the duty of ensuring supplies of energy, and they are bound to do that by means of an energy policy. What I am saying is that that energy policy is not written down at any particular time. It has been tried in the past, and the result has been that it has had to be changed within a very short period.
§ LORD BYERSMy Lords, do the Government consider that they have fulfilled their duty?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, the Government always endeavour to fulfil their duty, and I think they are not doing too badly.
§ LORD POPPLEWELLMy Lords, does not the noble Lord realise that his reply indicates quite clearly that there is no such comprehensive energy policy at present? In view of the information given in this House in the debate on energy some little time ago, will he not ask his right honourable friend to make representations to the Cabinet that a comprehensive energy policy for the nation in all forms of energy is long overdue, and that this day-to-day business is simply a waste of the nation's resources?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, if my reply gave the noble Lord, or any other noble Lord, the impression that there is no energy policy, then I am sorry because it was misleading. But if the noble Lord will read my reply, I think he will find that that is not so.
§ LORD SHINWELLMy Lords, how is it possible for any one country to have a comprehensive energy policy which includes oil, nuclear energy and what-have-you, without the co-operation of many other countries, including the United States, and indeed the E.E.C. and the Middle East?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, the noble Lord is quite right. In fulfilling their duty of ensuring energy supplies for this country the Government must take into account what is being done in other countries. I have already said that, as a member of the E.E.C., we are in search at the present time of an energy policy within the E.E.C.
§ LORD SLATERMy Lords, is the Minister aware that previous Govern- 410 ments have been requested to give the information to both Houses of Parliament regarding an energy policy, so far as the Government are concerned, yet his reply to-day has not adequately satisfied noble Lords on this side of the House, and particularly myself. Will he not get in touch with the Minister responsible for our energy policy and pass on to noble Lords such information as he is able to obtain?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, I am in daily touch with the Minister responsible and I can assure the noble Lord that we shall pass on to this House any developments as they occur.
§ LORD BLYTONMy Lords, could the Minister assure me that in the promotion of an energy policy there will be no such silly business as forecasts for four and five years in the future, they having always proved wrong in the past?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, I hope that the noble Lord's noble friends have taken note of what the noble Lord has said.