HC Deb 03 December 1979 vol 975 cc87-8W
Mr. Penhaligon

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if, in the light of departmental estimates of increasing energy demand contained in the reply of his right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Edge Hill, (Mr. Alton) Official Report, 12 November, c. 454–6, and the evidence given before the Vale of Belvoir inquiry by the Director General of the EEC Energy Commission, he proposes to reassess the policy of his Department.

Mr. David Howell

My Department's "Energy Projections 1979" take account, in the transport sector, of the traffic forecasts to which my right hon. Friend referred in his answer. The uncertainties surrounding world oil supply strongly underline the importance of making best use of our own indigenous oil and in the transport sector of achieving very substantial improvements in vehicle efficiency.