§ Sir J. Mellorasked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will give an assurance that, without increasing the price of coal to consumers, merchants will be allowed the same selling margins on domestic coal drawn from Government dumps as for similar coal from truck; and what margin will be allowed on coal drawn from the Solihull dump.
Major Lloyd GeorgeThe margin allowable to the merchant on house coal drawn from Government dumps is fixed at the normal commercial margin applicable to the schedule grade under which it is decided, after examination by the Regional Coal Officer, the House Coal Officer, the Selling Agent and the Chairman and a merchant representative of the Retail Coal Prices Advisory Committee, that the coal should be retailed. The merchants will, therefore, be allowed the same margin as for similar coal from truck and the consumer will not be called upon to pay a higher price than the scheduled price for that coal. The merchant's margin on house coal drawn from the Solihull dump is 16s. 6d. a ton.