30. Mr. Clifford Williamsasked the Minister of Power what is the full total of interest money paid to the former colliery owners to the end of this year.
§ Mr. FreesonTotal gross interest paid under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act, 1946, for the period from vesting date until compensation was fully satisfied amounted to about £63 million. Subsequently, the holders of Government stock issued in satisfaction of compensation received interest at 3½ per cent. per annum. It is impossible to say how much of this interest, which up to June 1967 amounted to £134 million, has been paid to former colliery owners, since the stock freely changed hands on the market after being issued.
Mr. WilliamsI am rather disappointed with that reply, because I had expected that the Minister would have been able to say precisely how much interest had been paid to the former colliery owners. [HON. MEMBERS: "Question."] Will my hon. Friend take some steps, if he can, some time in the future to recover some of this money, so that it may be used to help repair the damage caused by the former colliery owners by subsidence and the tipping of pit rubbish in former mining areas?
§ Mr. FreesonIt is impossible to get this information, because the stock was freely available on the market. It is not possible for us to seek to claw back this money, since those people have not got it any more. The stock has been sold on the market.