§ 21 and 22. Mr. Ellis Smithasked the Minister of Supply (1) why he has agreed with an allocation of coal which results in the uneconomical use of fuel in the steel furnaces; why unburnt lime is used which requires mode coal and pig iron for the steel produced and adds to transport costs; if he is aware of the effect of reduced supplies of lime to the iron, steel, building, chemical and pottery industries; and if he will call for a technical investigation into the uneconomical use of fuel which has taken place curing the past four months;
(2) why coal is denied the lime producers, which prevents burnt lime from being supplied to the steel producers, resulting in more coal being used and less steel produced; if he will provide for the small increase of fuel required so that burnt lime can be delivered to steel producers; and if he is aware that 300 tons of slack would enable 1,000 tons of burnt lime to be produced, which would enable 25 per cent more steel to be produced.
§ Mr. WilmotDuring recent months cases have occurred in which steel makers have had to use unburned lime, but I am assured that over the industry as a whole the effect on the total output has been small. The revised coal allocations to lime producers for the summer months should ease the position substantially.