25. Air Commodore Harveyasked the Paymaster-General whether, on the basis of information available to him for compiling Table 29 of the Ministry of Power Statistical Digest, he will state the number of ponies employed in the pits at the latest convenient date; and how this number compares with the same date in 1951.
§ The Paymaster-General (Mr. Reginald Maudling)There were 11,792 at the end of last June, compared with 15,858 in 1951.
Air Commodore HarveyIs my right hon. Friend aware that many of us have been most gratified to receive these figures? Can he say what the trend will be in the next five years? Has he any estimate to make?
§ Mr. MaudlingI think that the trend will continue downwards, but there are circumstances in which mechanisation is not a practical alternative.