asked the Minister for Energy what plans the Government have for the gasification of coal in the United Kingdom; and what is the estimate of production costs compared with natural gas from the English basin and the North Sea.

There are no immediate plans, but development work both in the United Kingdom and abroad is being carefully followed, in consultation with the British Gas Corporation and the National Coal Board. It is too early to give a realistic estimate of production costs but on our present information they are likely to be considerably higher than those of North Sea gas.