HC Deb 19 May 1954 vol 527 c123W
1 and 3. Mr. Langford-Holt

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air (1) what inquiries were made by his Department and from whom as to present day costs of re-refining used lubricating oil before the decision was taken to reverse the policy of Her Majesty's Government in accordance with which all used lubricating oil has been re-refined for re-use instead of being sold for unspecified purposes;

(2) what tenders he has received this year for the re-refining of his Department's used lubricating oil on which he has based his assumption that the cost of re-refining used oil is greater than that of buying new oil.

Mr. Ward

We did not ask for tenders for re-refining used aviation oil in 1954–55. Instead, we based our estimates of the cost of re-refining on the prices in the contracts for 1953–54, together with prices quoted for doing similar work. We also had available to us a great deal of information about current costs in the industry, much of which was given to us in confidence.