§ 97. Mr. H. Hyndasked the Paymaster-General what extra cost has been incurred by his Department as a result of petrol rationing.
§ Mr. MaudlingUp to 17th January, 1957, approximately £157,500 including £100,000 payable to other Government Departments in respect of seconded staff.
§ 102. Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Paymaster-General what reduction he proposes to make in the basic petrol ration for motorists resident in urban areas or other places well served by public transport.
§ Mr. MaudlingNone.
§ 108. Sir F. Medlicottasked the Paymaster-General if he will make a statement as to the further period for which it is anticipated that petrol rationing will continue.
§ Mr. MaudlingI have nothing to add to the statement I made on 22nd January in reply to a Question from the hon. Member for Erith and Crayford (Mr. Dodds).
110. Dr. Bennettasked the Paymaster-General why it has been decided that all existing petrol coupons will become invalid after 16th April, thus inevitably speeding up the consumption of petrol during the period ending on that date.
§ 114. Mr. Fisherasked the Paymaster-General what plans he has made for petrol rationing in the summer holiday period; and if he will amend the present scheme to allow car owners to save up their basic ration for the current rationing period, in order to have extra petrol to use for their holidays.
§ Mr. MaudlingThe period of validity of the present coupon issue was prescribed in the Motor Fuel (No. 3) Order made on 12th December, 1956. My noble Friend must await more information about future supply prospects before deciding whether it would be practicable to allow any coupons to be carried over beyond the present rationing period.
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§ 111. Mr. Aitkenasked the Paymaster-General what special arrangements he proposes to make for Service personnel and others on leave from British territories overseas to obtain a supplementary petrol allowance for use while in this country.
§ Mr. MaudlingBritish subjects who live permanently abroad may claim the same allowances of petrol when they visit this country as foreign visitors. British subjects, including Service men who reside abroad temporarily may claim basic and supplementary rations on the same conditions as other United Kingdom residents.
§ 113. Mr. Cooper-Keyasked the Paymaster-General whether he will authorise a supplementary issue of petrol coupons to Service men arriving in this country on leave who wish to collect their cars from an address different from the station to which they have been posted.
§ Mr. MaudlingService men who, as a result of posting, need to move their cars from one station to another can apply to the Service authority concerned for a special allowance of petrol.
§ 121. Mr. Hunterasked the Paymaster-General, in view of the hardship caused to commercial travellers by petrol rationing, if he will take steps to increase their supplementary allowance.
§ Mr. MaudlingAs announced on 2nd January, self-employed persons whose livelihood is seriously threatened and firms whose production or turnover would be severely affected by shortage of petrol for their private vehicles may apply for an additional allowance.
§ Captain Kerbyasked the Paymaster-General if he will publish the amount of supplementary petrol rations issued to his regional petroleum officers, the names of the officers to whom they were issued, and the date of issue.
§ Mr. MaudlingAlthough it is not the practice to publish details of supplementary petrol allowances issued to individuals my noble Friend has asked me to state that only one of his regional petroleum officers has a supplementary allowance and that this amounts to one gallon a month and is in respect of his duties as a justice of the peace.
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§ Sir A. Bossomasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Power (1) whether he will state, for the guidance of commercial travellers and food distributing concerns, how their supplementary petrol allowances will be calculated, in relation to the amount of petrol they used before rationing, so that they can make the best provision possible to carry on their work;
(2) how the amount of petrol available to architects per week or month is decided, to permit them to supervise the construction of the buildings for which they are professionally responsible, in relation to the amount of petrol they had to use to perform this task satisfactorily before petrol rationing was introduced.
§ Mr. MaudlingThe rationing scheme is based on a basic ration, and standard supplementary allowances which are augmented only in cases where loss of livelihood or other serious hardship would otherwise result. Applications for allowances on these grounds will continue to be treated on their merits.
§ Mr. Gresham Cookeasked the Paymaster-General what steps he is taking to make a reasonable amount of petrol available for young Service men, colonial civil servants, planters and others, returning to Great Britain for a short period on leave, who have no car of their own but who can have one placed at their disposal by relatives or friends for the period of their leave.
§ Mr. MaudlingNo special steps are contemplated but regional petroleum officers have general discretion to grant supplementary allowances where hardship is involved.
§ Captain Pilkingtonasked the Paymaster-General how many outstanding applications for extra petrol still remain undealt with.
§ Mr. MaudlingThe regional petroleum officers have received and dealt with the bulk of the initial applications for supplementary allowances and are now dealing with a steady flow of applications for increases in the allowances on grounds of hardship.