§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the level of demand over the next five years for(a) coal, (b) electricity and (c) gas; what effect he expects the imposition of value added tax upon fuel and energy to have on consumption; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarMy Department recently published a range of energy demand projections in Energy Paper 59, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Those projections showed domestic sector energy demand approximately 6 per cent. higher in 2000 than in 1990. The imposition of VAT on domestic fuels is expected, in the long run, to reduce domestic sector consumption of coal by about 2 per cent. and of electricity and gas by about 4 per cent. This takes no account of the effects of any offsetting measures.