§ Lieut.-Colonel MOOREasked the Secretary for Mines whether in view of the number of idle pits and unemployed miners in West Scotland, any special consideration has been given to the possibility of establishing in Scotland a factory for extracting petrol from coal?
§ Mr. E. BROWNBy preferential treatment in regard to taxation of oil produced from indigenous coal and by a guaranteed preference on petrol so pro-776W duced, the Government have taken definite action designed to encourage the production of oil from coal. As regards the commercial development of particular processes, however, the view of the Government is that this is not a suitable object for Governmental action. The possibility of establishing an oil-from-coal industry in Scotland has been under consideration by the "Oil from Coal "Committee of the Scottish National Development Council, and the first report of the Committee, which has just been published, contains much useful information on the subject matter of the question, to which I would invite my hon. and gallant Friend's attention.