§ 101. Mr. Gammansasked the Minister of Fuel and Power what is the estimated saving of coal made as a result of the cuts in the railway service in the first quarter of this year.
§ Mr. P. Noel-BakerIt is not possible to give a quantitative estimate of the savings secured during the period in which the coal allocation to the railways was cut by 9,500 tons a week. That saving was, however, considerable, and I am most grateful to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and to the Railway Executive for the help which they gave by agreeing to this temporary reduction in coal supplies to the railways. It was of great value, for it made it possible to increase by the above amount the supplies sent to the house coal market, where it was urgently needed to meet the needs of domestic consumers.