§ Mr. Kirbyasked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he can make a statement as to the progress of the geological boring in search of oil at Formby, Lancashire, which was licensed to the D'Arcy Exploration Company in 1939; and what effect it has had, or is likely to have, upon the demand for labour in the area.
Major Lloyd GeorgeA considerable amount of drilling, both of shallow wells and of deep test bores, has been carried out in the licensed area and a small production of oil has been obtained since 1939. The demand for labour for this type of exploratory work is not large—at no time have more than 30 men been employed—and I cannot at present give any indication of what the future demand might be.