§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Energy what figures are available for the numbers and proportions of households in the United Kingdom not connected to a gas supply; if he will take steps to enable the British Gas Corporation to make gas available to more households; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John Moore:The British Gas Corporation has no statutory duties in respect of Northern Ireland. Of an estimated total of just over 20 million households in Great Britain, approximately 5 million do not have a gas supply. The British Gas Corporation has a statutory obligation to supply up to 25,000 therms of gas a year to any premises situated within 25 yards of a suitable main and it is already empowered to make connections outside that limit where it is economic to do so. The total number of new connections to domestic premises in 1980–81 was 236,000. I have no plans to extend the corporation's obligation to supply.