asked the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he has taken to offset the effect of the rail stoppages earlier this year on supplies of coal to the Central Electricity Generating Board.

The Government have decided to make a grant of up to £17 million to cover the net cost of additional oil consumed by the board in generating electricity from 11 February to 3 March 1982 to offset in part the effect of the rail stoppages. Parliamentary approval of the grant will be sought in a Supplementary Estimate for the Industrial Support; Department of Energy Vote 1982–83, Class IV, 5. The grant will be accommodated within the industry's external financing limit, so no increase in public expenditure will be involved. Pending that approval the grant will be paid from a repayable advance from the Contingencies Fund.