HC Deb 25 June 1928 vol 219 cc20-1
50. Mr. LEE

asked the Secretary for Mines if he can give the percentage of collieries in the various districts of the British coalfields where coal-cutting and conveying machinery is in use at the coal face, giving the output per man per shift in comparison with the output previous to the introduction of such machinery?

The SECRETARY for MINES (Commodore Douglas King)

As the reply involves a number of figures, I will, with

District. Number of Collieries at work in 1927. Percentage of Collieries using Coal Cutting Machines and/or Conveyors at the coal face.
Per cent.
1. Northumberland 123 41
2. Durham 277 38
3. Cumberland and Westmorland 35 29
4. Lancashire and Cheshire 234 41
5. Yorkshire, South 131 40
6. Yorkshire, West 164 37
7. Nottinghamshire 46 67
8. Derbyshire, North 125 30
9. Derbyshire, South 15 53
10. Staffordshire, North 93 39
11. Cannock Chase 47 45
12. South Staffs and Worcester 116 2
13. Leicestershire 17 65
14. Warwickshire 24 54
15. Shropshire 53 6
16. Forest of Dean 57 7
17. Somerset 18 6
18. Bristol 3 33
19. Kent 4 50
20. South Wales and Monmouth 638 24
21. North Wales 37 41
22. Fife and Clackmannan 68 76
23. Lothians (Mid and East) 31 68
24. Lanarkshire, Linlithgow, Stirling, Renfrew and Dumbarton. 284 58
25. Ayrshire, Dumfries and Argyll 79 42
Total 2,719 36

I regret that as the machinery has been introduced very gradually over a long period, it is not possible to fix a basic date which would enable me to answer the last part of the question.