A History of the Ministry of Information, 1939-46
FUEL STOCKS.
Purpose.
The Ministry of Fuel and Power wished to know the level of domestic stocks of fuel in December 1942, in order to discover what success the measures they had taken to increase these stocks had achieved.
Method.
The inquiry was addressed to housewives in England, Scotland and Wales. They were asked what were their stocks of four fuels, coal and coalite, coke and anthracite, concurrently with other questions on such different subjects as their consumption of prepared foods and what difficulties they had in obtaining certain articles of apparel and household use. It was necessary to adopt this procedure in order to be able to fit in the inquiry at the short notice we were given. The advantage in this, at a time when Fuel Economy was being very much discussed, and a number of orders restricting stocks were in operation, was that the questions could be asked after an adequate introduction had been secured, and the nature of the inquiry was clear. A copy of the questionnaire is appended.
Sample.
The sample was a purposive one, in that the number of housewives to be interviewed in the different income groups was laid down in advance, as were the numbers to be taken in each region. A numerical analysis of the final total of 6,593 interviews is as follows:-
Analysis by Income Groups.
Wage of Chief Wage Earner
| 1. | Up to £3.12.0. | 2149 |
| 2. | £3.12.0. - £5.0.0. | 2107 |
| 3. | £5. 0.0 - £10.0.0. | 1413 |
| 4. | £10.0.0. and Over | 481 |
| Unclassified | 443 | |
| 6593 | ||
Analysis by Civil Defence Regions.
| 1. | North | 455 |
| 2. | North East | 565 |
| 3. | North Midland | 216 |
| 4. | East | 441 |
| 5. | London | 1049 |
| 6. | South | 467 |
| 7. | South West | 511 |
| 8. | Wales | 354 |
| 9. | Midland | 702 |
| 10. | North West | 1071 |
| 11. | Scotland | 636 |
| 12. | South East | 126 |
| 6593 | ||
Towns Visited were as follows:-
QUANTITIES HELD BY HOUSEHOLDS,
The only analyses adopted in this report are by Income and by Region. All are presented in a condensed form.
Analysis by Income Group.
Coal & Coalite
Table 1
An average of 3% of all groups had no stocks of coal or coalite at this time (December). There were small differences between the four groups. At a level of stocks of over 5cwt., however, the differences are considerable, as the following, abstract shows : -
These figures seem to provide adequate justification for the Ministry of Fuel and Power’s policy of attending to the needs of the small consumer first.
The amount of coalite included in the above figures is very small.
Coke
Table 2
This table not only shows the distribution of stocks, but reflects also the greater flexibility of the heating plant of the upper income groups, who are the chief users of coke, as well as their greater purchasing capacity, since coke is not usually bought a bag at a time.
Those with no stocks of coke in each of the four groups were:-
There is a very sharp difference between the highest income group and the other three, but on the other hand stocks of coke are not great even in this group, 31% having stocks of over 5 cwt; compared with 6% in the next highest group, roughly three-quarters of those possessing stocks in each case. Nationally, stocks of over 5 cwts. were held in only 4% of all households.
Anthracite
Table 3
The- distribution of stocks of anthracite is much the same as in the case of coke. The chief users of anthracite as of coke, are those in the highest income group, and here the stocks over 5 cwt. held by, this group are greater, 14% of all households having more than 5 cwt. This compares with 2% for the country as a whole.
All Fuels
Table 4
This is very much a summary of the preceding tables. The lowest income group has the lowest stocks, only 37% having over 5 cwt. of all fuels, and the highest proportion with no stocks -4%. Within the highest income group this situation is completely reversed, the figures being 90% and 1%. Nationally, 3% have no stocks and 56% have over 5 cwt. of all fuels.
Analysis by Region .
Coal
Table 5
The percentage of those without stocks in each region ranges from 1 to 6. London had the highest percentage without, Scotland coming next with 4%. Four regions, the South, South-West, North-East, and East had only 1% without stocks.
The regions with the greatest proportion of households having over 5 cwt. were:-
The lowest proportions were:-
From this analysis it would appear that the most favoured regions were the South, both Midland regions and the North-East. The least favoured were London and Scotland. Generally speaking the Western half of the country appears to have been fairly well stocked and the Eastern part, excluding London, well stocked.
Nationally, 3% of all households had no stocks, and 55% had stocks of over 5 cwt.
Coke
Table 6
The regions with the lowest proportions without stocks were S.E., London, N. East and South, in that order. So far as extent of stocks is concerned the South East is very well placed, 22% of its households having over 5 cwt., while London, which comes next, has only 8% in a similar position. In a number of other regions those possessing stocks were fewer, but there was relatively a greater concentration of stocks. Both the Midland regions and the North had only 9% with stocks, yet 6% have stocks over 5 cwt.
Anthracite
The only regions with appreciable stocks of anthracite were South, South East and London. 15%, 12% and 9% of the households in each region, in that order, had stocks, and the proportions of those holding stocks over 5 cwt. were 8%, 5% and 5%.
All Fuels .
Since coal is the dominating fuel this analysis is in most ways a repetition of the coal analysis. The most favoured regions are again the South and both Midland regions, and the least favoured London and Scotland.
CONCLUSIONS
Coal
Conclusions can, perhaps, best be drawn with reference to the previous inquiry also. A comparison shows that to some extent stocks have been built up very successfully between October and December. In the lowest income group the decline from 22% without stocks to 4% without stocks is striking. Nevertheless, a comparison of stocks over 5 cwt. in the same income group shows no difference at all. In October 37% had stocks over 5 cwt. In September 36% were in that position.
It would seem therefore that so far as coal is concerned the hand to mouth existence of the lower income group is confirmed. There appears to be a maximum beyond which, for economic reasons, and perhaps limitations of storage space, they cannot accumulate stocks. The problem is, therefore, as was previously suggested, one of supply.
The higher income groups were able to increase their stocks over 5 cwt. to some extent, but generally the increase has been absorbed by the up to 5 cwt. group.
By the same criterion, that is the decrease in numbers without stocks, the same improvement is clear regionally. London and Scotland remain among the least favoured areas, and the South and Midlands among the most favoured, but on the whole the rise in stocks has been general.
Comparisons of quantities of stocks in this inquiry with those in the last inquiry are rendered difficult by the deficiency of numbers in the Regional analysis then obtained. However, it may be significant that in the regions where direct comparison is possible, that is, the North Midland, East London, South and North West, the tendency is for stocks over 5 cwt. to remain proportionately the same or decrease.
| Stocks over 5 cwt. October | Stocks over 5 cwt. December | |
|---|---|---|
| % | % | |
| North Midlands | 69 | 64 |
| London | 43 | 41 |
| East | 61 | 61 |
| South | 24 | 24 |
| North West | 55 | 51 |
It would seem, therefore, that the additional stocks have been spread widely, but thinly, throughout the country.
Coke and Anthracite .
There was an increase in the numbers storing coke in any quantity, as the following summary shows:-
Percentages with no stocks
| Up to £3.12.0. | £3.12.0. to £5. | £5.0.0 to £10. | |
| October | 99 | 99 | 93 |
| December | 97 | 94 | 84 |
As with coal, however, the increase in the numbers of those storing over 5 cwt. was slight, and the bulk of the increase was absorbed by the up to 5 cwt. group. The greater use of coke for heating by the higher income groups is emphasised.
In the regions the concentration of the use of coke in London and the South East is noteworthy. It is possible that one reason is a wider popularity of heating systems adapted to the use of coke.
Stocks of Anthracite increase in precisely the same way as stocks of coke, and are concentrated in the same income groups and the same regions, possibly for the same reasons.
On the whole supplies of fuel seem to have been good in December, and relatively equally distributed.
This inquiry is to be repeated at the end of April, 1943.