Oil Price Fixing Criticized
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By Our Parliamentary Correspondent SPIRITED debate on petrol and —1. oil prices was raised on the djournment by Mr. Norman Dodds Lab., Dartford) in the House of Cornions, last Friday. He heartily attacked he oil companies, and the Government pokesman,-Mr. A. R. W. Low, Ministof State, Board of Trade, said many f the problems were outside British arisdietion, He did not think that.
■ rice control was the solution of all Lie difficulties.
Mr. Dodds urged that although a cut s the petrol and oil taxes could reduce he cost of living, it did not seem to sensible to advocate a reduction of ix and then "leave it to the oil comities to run absolutely rampant in their fforts to make as much money as lossible."
Prices Up Overnight
Only a few weeks ago there was an xample of what could happen, when ye of the largest oil companies put p their prices overnight, he asserted. World production of oil was expandrig rapidly. Last year. the Western lemisphere was glutted with oil to such an extent that it was being exported to other parts of the world. In 1954, production reached the record figure of 681m. tons, 26m. tons more than in 1953.
" We should bear in mind that fourfifths of the petrol and nine-tenths of the diesel oil is being used in carrying passengers and goods and that, therefore, it must have a very big effect on the question of the cost of living," said Mr. Dodds. .
He had a motion on the Order Paper asking that there should be a reduction in the fuel duty in this year's Budget. "We should not ask for this reduction simply for the purpose of providing more millions for the combines," he stated.
Mr. Low said it would be wrong for him to discuss the merits of the arguments about the accusations against the oil companies. For him to say that a certain subject seemed to be a specially strong candidate for examination by the Monopolies Commission might appear to condemn the industry in advance, and thus prejudge the questions which it was the Commission's function to decide. To indicate in advance of actual reference that a particular industry was to be referred to the Commission would add unnecessarily to the already substantial period during which that industry and its customers were bound to be unsettled.
The problem of the oil companies was not just British, but international and affected companies outside the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. Some parts of the problem seemed to be quite outside the terms of reference of the Commission.
Commission's Report
Speaking of the report of the Economic Commission for Europe, Mr. Low said it was considered in the Coal Committee of the Commission, and our representatives reserved their position, Other Governments were no doubt carefully considering the matter.
Price control was not a solution of aft our problems, and before a system of price control was instituted we must find a yardstick, which was one of the problems. Since price control was removed by this Government at the beginning of 1953, the price of standardgrade petrol had dropped by lid., which was quite a substantial fall even after allowing for the recent increase of id. per gallon.