§ 15. Mr. Edwin Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Energy what will be the estimated amounts of tons of coal supplied from the British coalfields during each of the next 10 years; and what would be the estimated part of those tonnages which would be supplied from the new Selby coalfield.
§ Mr. EadieThe recently published tripartite report "Coal for the Future" re-endorsed the target for colliery production of 120 million tons in 1985. Selby is expected to produce 8 million tons a year by then and to reach full production a couple of years later.
Previous estimates for annual output in the intervening years are now being reassessed in the light of the agreement on early retirement for mineworkers and would be influenced by any introduction of an incentive scheme when pay policy permits.
§ Mr. WainwrightWill my hon. Friend bear in mind that in the next decade or so the demand for energy is bound to exceed the supply? Will he meet the NUM and the NCB as quickly as possible to discuss the future of the industry in order to ensure increased production by new investment and other methods? Will he also say something about future supplies of anthracite? Is he aware that we were short of anthracite and smokeless fuel in Yorkshire and that this shortage was felt very hard during the last winter?
§ Mr. EadieI had the pleasure of visiting Bentley Colliery, in Yorkshire, on Friday and was very impressed by the effort of the men there. As regards the outlook for the production of coal, the NCB and the NUM have a working party looking into this whole question and it will be reporting shortly. The union and the board are conscious that we shall need an enhanced training scheme to deal with the problem of early retirement. I dealt with anthracite in a previous Question.
§ Mr. Patrick McNair-WilsonDoes the Minister agree that Selby is already very far behind schedule and that water table problems there are a great deal more serious than was ever envisaged, with some people in the industry talking about taking three feet out of a nine feet seam? As virtually no work has yet started, 1025 would it not have been better to have started the Vale of Belvoir first?
§ Mr. EadieI do not agree with the hon. Gentleman. In order to assist him further, I refer him to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Houghton-le-Spring (Mr. Urwin) last week.