asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has on the prices in Northern Ireland of (i) a bag of coal, (ii) a bag of anthracite, (iii) a unit of electricity, (iv) a cylinder of gas and (v) a litre of central heating oil; and on comparable prices in each region of Great Britain.
Regional prices of a bag of house coal (Group 2), a bag of anthracite and a unit of electricity are as follows:
| Town | Group 2 house coal | Anthracite/grains |
| £ | £ | |
| Newcastle | 4·30 | 6·50 |
| Leeds | 4·30 | 6·91 |
| Nottingham | 4·40 | 7·20 |
| Belfast | 5·04 | 7·77 |
| Glasgow | 5·10 | 7·70 |
| Liverpool | 5·30 | 7·62 |
| Ipswich | 5·70 | 7·65 |
| Cardiff | 5·70 | 7·30 |
| Inverness | 5·90 | 8·20 |
| London district | 6·10 | 7·75 |
| Bournemouth | 6·40 | 3·32 |
| Exeter | 6·40 | 8·40 |
Source: British Coal.
Electricity
| |
Area board
| Domestic tariff (October 1986) per unit (pence)
|
| East Midlands | 5·45 |
| North-Eastern | 5·25 |
| South-Eastern | 5·24 |
| Southern | 5·09 |
| South-Western | 5·32 |
| South Wales | 5·49 |
| London | 5·45 |
| Midlands | 5·52 |
| Eastern | 5·16 |
| Yorkshire | 5·47 |
| North-Western | 5·05 |
| Merseyside and North Wales | 5·70 |
| NIE | 5·68 |
| North of Scotland | 4·77 |
| South of Scotland | 5·02 |
Note: Excludes standing charges.
Source: Published area board tariffs.
There is no published information on regional prices of domestic central heating oil and LPG, but on the basis of spot checks carried out in response to this question I am satisfied that prices in Northern Ireland of both these fuels compare closely with prices prevailing in Great Britain.