§ Mr. Sharpasked the Minister of Supply whether the billets available for the manufacture of electrode wire, and now being produced in the United Kingdom are being used for any other purpose; what is the nature of the special technique which cannot be expanded to meet present demands; whether there is any shortage of electrode wire-drawing capacity; and when he estimates that United Kingdom produced supplies will meet the demands of United Kingdom industry.
§ Mr. G. R. StraussA high-grade carbon steel of a rigid specification requiring high purity is needed for electrode wire. Similar high quality carbon steels are required for other important purposes, such as the production of colliery ropes and wire for armoured cables. Owing to the particular quality specifications, production of such steels involves foregoing the production of much larger tonnages of ordinary commercial quality steel and is hampered by contamination of scrap resulting from the war. Measures are, however, being taken to expand the production of the high grade steels needed92W for wire and to supplement this temporarily, in the case of electrode wire, by special electric furnace production. There is no shortage of wire drawing capacity for these wires and it is hoped that, with the aid of the supplementary production of high grade steels, the output of wire will meet the most essential demands by mid-1948.