§ Viscount Hanworthasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, given the current state of the coal mining industry, they consider that a fall of 20 per cent. or more in the energy generated by coal-fired power stations is in the overall national interest, whatever the economic justification for it may be.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Strathclyde)The aim of the Government's energy policy is to ensure secure, diverse and sustainable supplies of energy in the form that people and business want, and at competitive prices. The Government believe that their aim will be achieved most fully through the mechanism of the market. The Government remain convinced that privatisation offers the best way to secure their aim to have the largest economically viable coal industry in the longer term.