§ Mr. De Chairasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that farmers in Norfolk are unable to take advantage of the Government's offer of a 25 per cent. grant towards the cost of basic slag since merchants are unable to procure any further supplies of it; whether this state of affairs applies to the whole country and, if so, how long it is likely to last?
§ Mr. RamsbothamMy right hon. Friend is aware that there is difficulty at present in obtaining supplies of basic slag. The figures given yesterday by my right854W hon. Friend in reply to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Yeovil (Sir G. Davies) show that approximately twice as much basic slag will be available during the year ending 31st May next as was delivered during the previous 12 months. It is evident that basic slag producers are doing all they can to make available as much as possible of this byproduct, the supply of which is, of course, dependent on the output of certain types of steel. There is good reason to believe that the supply of basic slag in the next fertiliser year will be even greater than during the current season.