§ Mr. Gardnerasked the Minister of Power if he is satisfied that the primary charge introduced into their tariff structure by the East Midlands Gas Board is in accordance with the principles of the Government's prices and incomes policy as applied to the nationalised industries; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreesonYes. In raising their tariffs within the limits that the National Board for Prices and Incomes had found to be justified, the East Midlands Gas Board followed the principle set out in the White Paper on Nationalised Industries: A Review of Economic and Financial Objectives (Cmnd. 3437), and in the N.B.P.I. report No. 57 on Gas Prices (Cmnd. 3567), that all consumers should pay as nearly as possible what it costs to supply them. A primary charge that recovers, wholly or partially, the costs of making a supply of gas available to a consumer, irrespective of how 65W much or little he uses, applies this principle.