§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of Power why, in view of the Government's wage and prices standstill, he is permitting an increase of £1 per ton in the pithead price of coal, in view of the fact that summer discount prices were not available to the retail customers this year.
§ Dr. BrayThe normal summer discount of £1 a ton was introduced on 1st May but for most grades of coal the discount more than offset the simultaneous increase in house coal prices. The summer discount ended on 31st October. The White Paper on the Prices and Incomes Standstill (Cmnd. 3073) made it clear that seasonal price changes up and down would not be regarded as a breach of the prices standstill.