§ Mr. Pagetasked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will state the percentage 128W of opencast coal supplied to coal merchants in Northampton; and how this compares with the percentage supplied to other parts of the country.
§ Mr. GaitskellDuring the summer about 26 per cent. of the house coal allocated to coal merchants in Northampton was opencast. During the last two years it has generally only been possible to move opencast coal by road and distribution had therefore, to be limited to depots within reasonable road haulage distance from the sites. The North Midland Region thus received a much higher proportion of opencast coal than regions that were more distant from opencast coal sites. A more even spread of this coal is now possible by rail and as from 1st November the depots in the North Midland Region which have hitherto received 26 per cent. have been allocated only 10 per cent. of opencast coal.