Mr. T. MORRISasked the Secretary for Mines whether his attention has been called to the claims of the Iron and Steel Federation that through the work of their research council there has been an annual saving in fuel to their industry equivalent to some £4,500,000 a year; and whether he has any information to show what such saving represents in terms of the decline of coal output and unemployment of miners?
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§ Mr. E. BROWNI have seen references in the Press to a speech made by the President of the Iron and Steel Federation in which he stated that, as a result of the work of their research council, the iron and steel industry was saving about £4,500,000 per annum in fuel costs. I understand that this figure is based on a comparison of the quantity of coal required for the production of one ton of pig iron and one ton of steel in 1923 and 1934 respectively. On this basis the quantity of coal saved in the latter year amounted to about 6,250,000 tons, which would represent the employment of about 22,000 miners.