§ LORD CALVERLEYasked His Majesty's Government what were the monthly deliveries of coal to steam users in the woollen and worsted industry during the first six months of 1947, and what is the minimum amount of coal needed to keep the industry running a normal month.
§ LORD WALKDENDetails of monthly deliveries of coal to steam users in the woollen and worsted industry are not readily available. The following table, however, shows total deliveries of coal to the wool and clothing group of industries as a whole in the North Eastern Region in each of the first seven months of this1470WA year. (The coal consumption for the clothing group is relatively small).
Month Number of weeks in the month. 1947 Deliveries. January… 4 92,000 February… 4 57,000 March… 5 99,000 April… … 4 96,000 May… … 5 145,000 June … … 5 159,000 July … … 4 108,000 The coal requirements of the woollen industry differ as between the winter and summer months, being higher in the winter because of space heating; and apart from this the conditions affecting coal requirements are constantly changing. It is not possible, therefore, to give a precise answer to the second part of the question. The average weekly consumption of the wool and clothing industries in the North Eastern Region last summer was, however, 24,000 tons and the additional requirements of deconcentrated firms who have come into production since last summer and of firms whose production has expanded are estimated at approximately 2,500 tons. This latter figure would require to be increased with any further additions to the production capacity of the industry arising out of, for example, an expansion of the labour force or the working of longer hours.