§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will research the data given in answer to the hon. Member for Kensington and Chelsea (Sir B. Rhys Williams), Official Report, 20 December 1979, c. 365–6, presenting the number of children in large families as a percentage of all poor children in each group.
§ Mrs. Chalker[pursuant to her reply, 30 January 1980, 657–8]: The notes were omitted from my earlier reply:
million tonnes of coal equivalent higher than in 1978, that is about 350 to 355 mtce for energy uses. About a third of the increase in 1979 was due to the unusually cold weather in the early part of the year. These special factors, taken with the expected drop in economic activity this year, make forecasting for 1980 particularly difficult, but assuming average temperatures in 1980, a net drop in consumption of about 8 to 10 mtce is thought possible, with oil taking most of the decline, although some drop in coal consumption is also expected, partly because 329W of reduced demand for electricity. There could still be some increase in natural gas consumption, since the full effect of the proposed price increases will not be felt until the latter part of the year.