HC Deb 29 April 1974 vol 872 cc761-2
26. Mr. loan Evans

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the latest figures available of recruitment for the coal industry; and what are the future prospects for the industry.

Mr. Eadie

In the first five weeks after the end of the strike the National Coal Board received some 16,500 applications for jobs and about 3,700 men were signed on.

My Department is making a special examination, with the National Coal Board and the unions concerned, of the contribution which the industry can make to the country's energy requirements.

Mr. Evans

I thank my hon. Friend for his encouraging reply. Will he take this opportunity to deny the report which appeared in two Sunday newspapers eight days ago that nearly half of Britain's 260 coal mines could be closed by 1985? In denying that, will he reiterate that there is a great and prosperous future for the mining industry and that we should encourage the efforts being made to increase the number of recruits?

Mr. Eadie

My right hon. Friend is not responsible for reports or for Rip Van Winkle fuel economists who think that coal has no future. I assure my hon. Friend that coal has a future, and that is what the tripartite inquiry is examining.

Mr. Redmond

What percentage of the recruits who are now coming forward are former miners and what percentage are people who are totally new to the industry?

Mr. Eadie

I do not have the exact figures, but the vast proportion of the recruits are former miners who have come back to the industry because they now have some confidence in its future. Amongst those recruited are some who could be termed "green" labour.

Mr. Skinner

Is my hon. Friend aware that the numbers recruited in the first few weeks after the 1974 strike are about the same as those who were recruited after the 1972 strike but that thereafter recruitment rapidly tailed off? Taking this into account, will he indicate to the National Coal Board that it is bad practice to try to encourage recruitment by evicting miners who have left the industry from the board's tied cottages?

Mr. Eadie

I assure my hon. Friend that my right hon. Friend is not complacent about the fact that in the meantime more recruits are being attracted to the mining industry. I have no knowledge of the eviction of tenants by the NCB. If my hon. Friend wishes to get in touch with us, we shall look at this matter.