THE ‘BATTLE FOR FUEL’

The three reports gathered together under this title are based on inquiries made between September 1942 and February 1943. All were made, either directly or indirectly, for the Ministry of Fuel and Power.

‘Fuel Target’, the first report, aimed at discovering the extent to which a limited group of households had put into effect the advice given them in the advertising campaign carried out by the Campaigns Division of the Ministry of Information under that title.

‘Fuel Stocks’ sought to determine the level of stocks of solid fuel in middle and lower income households in December 1942.

‘The Small Consumer’ set out to appreciate the success of the Ministry of Fuel and Power’s scheme for their priority supply during the winter months.

The position revealed by these inquiries was in some respects satisfactory, and in others unsatisfactory. There was room for an increase in the practice of minor fuel economies, and an improvement in the extent and frequency of supplies to the poorest section of the community, although, with this exception, supplies of solid fuel seem to have been well and equitably distributed.

Although the small fuel economies were fairly widely practised, a considerable margin remains, and it is possible that households not practising any one or a number of them will require intensive persuasion to do so.

Fuel stocks have been quite good, and their increase seems to have kept pace with the decrease in the temperature. The poorest households were most affected by coal shortages during January and February, and since they are also the most dependent on coal for heating, the hardship was proportionately great. Lack of storage for more than 2 cwt. of fuel, as well as economic circumstances, seem to have played a part in this. On the other hand lack of storage space does not affect in any way four-fifths of the population we sampled.

Regionally, Stocks were lowest in highly industrialized areas like London, Scotland, and the N. East, although other industrial areas like the Midlands and N. West have occupied a fairly good position. The chief difficulties would seem to be those of supply to a highly concentrated population in a conurbation like London and the Glasgow area, where there is a relatively high proportion of the poorer households with very little storage space.

The small consumer would appear to have been well safeguarded by the scheme for their supply which was operated for the Ministry of Fuel and Power by the retailers. In January and February the proportion suffering from a shortage of coal was extremely low. Out of the population sampled (which covered 75% of the whole population) only 2% had been without coal during that period.

Read in conjunction with each other these reports afford a fair picture of the success of the ‘Battle for Fuel’ during the winter 1942-3.