§ 78. Major Beamishasked the Minister of Supply whether he is aware that some scrap dealers are offering very low prices for scrap collected in the countryside; and if he will now give wider publicity to the methods being used to collect scrap in country districts and ensure that a correct price is being paid for it.
§ Mr. SandysNo; but I will arrange for cases of alleged under-payment to be investigated, if my hon. and gallant Friend can give me the necessary details. Widely publicised schemes which provide for farmers to be paid a fair price for their scrap are being operated satisfactorily in several counties, with the full support of the National Farmer's Union.
§ Mr. G. R. Straussasked the Minister of Supply how much domestic ferrous scrap was collected during each of the last six 11W months for which figures are available; and what were the corresponding figures for the previous year.
§ Mr. SandysIt is not practicable to maintain complete records of domestic scrap collections. The average weekly deliveries to blast furnaces of destructor scrap during each of the six months ending March, 1952, and the corresponding figures for the previous year were:
Tons 1950 1951 October … … 2,600 2,100 November … … 1,800 1,900 December … … 2,300 2,000 1951 1952 January … … 2,100 2,100 February … … 2,300 2,300 March … … 2,100 2,300