§ 102. Mr. Carsonasked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will now restore the 10 per cent. cut in the petrol allocation to hire-car services made at the time of the cancellation of the basic petrol ration for private motorists some three and a half years ago.
§ Mr. RobensSince 1945 the number of hire-cars has greatly increased and is now considerably above the pre-war figure. The amount of petrol allocated to these cars has risen from under 24 million gallons in 1946 to 36 million gallons now. The provision for this service is reasonably adequate and I regret, therefore, that in present circumstances we cannot afford to increase it.