§ 33. Mr. E. BROWNasked the Secretary for Mines how many amalgamations have been proposed under the Mining Industry Act, 1926; how many have been sanctioned; and how many have actually been carried through?
§ Colonel LANE FOXAs the reply to this question is a long one, and involves a tabular statement, I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. PALINGDoes that mean that the right hon. Gentleman is going to give us some information as to the amalgamations that have taken place?
§ Following is the reply:
| Number of Amalgamations since the passing of Number of Approximate the Mining Industry Act, 1926, including number confirmed by the Court as shown in brackets. | Number of Collieries involved. | Approximate Annual Output. |
| Tons. | ||
| 8(3) | 70(32) | 18,746,000 (5,543,000) |
§ The hon. Member will understand that it does not necessarily follow that only those amalgamations confirmed by the Court result from the passing of the Mining Industry Act, 1926, as the possibility of using the procedure under the Act is undoubtedly facilitating voluntary amalgamations. In addition, the following selling agencies or other organisations for a similar purpose have been formed or are under discussion:
§ District arrangements:
- South Wales.
- Yorkshire, Notts. and Derby.
- North Staffordshire.
§ Amalgamation of existing selling agencies:
§ L. Gueret, Limited, with D. R. Llewellyn, Merrett & Price and A. J. Pope & Company.
§ The above statement does not include any information which has reached the Department confidentially, and therefore, as I have previously suggested to the House, this answer if taken by itself must necessarily be misleading and incomplete.