§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why executives of Shell Mex and BP Ltd. have been instructed to allocate petrol supplies to garages on the basis of 10 per cent. cuts after first reducing the figures of September 1973 allocations by an initial 19 per cent.
§ Mr. Tom BoardmanSome garages had no deliveries of petrol in September 1973 or materially lower deliveries than would normally have been the case. In these instances, for the purposes of the oil allocation scheme the oil industry, with the agreement of my Department, has made estimates of notional deliveries for November and December 1973 which have then been reduced by 20 per cent. and adjusted to equate to the allocation period. This reduction of 20 per cent. reflects the general growth in consumption during 1973 and is roughly364W equivalent to a cut-back of 10 per cent. on last year's sales.