Coal Prices

HC Deb 15 February 1988 vol 127 cc696-7

13. Mr. Barry Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if the chairman of British Coal has discussed with him the effect the decline in the dollar has had on the price of coal.

Mr. Michael Spicer

My right hon. Friend and I meet the chairman of British Coal at regular intervals to discuss all aspects of the coal industry.

Mr. Jones

These are very uncertain times for the home industry. What plans does the Minister have to assist and protect the United Kingdom coal industry? May I remind him of the announcement last week of two pit closures in south Wales, in areas of very high unemployment where male unemployment is 1 in 4? We are saying to him that enough is enough. What will he do to protect the home industry?

Mr. Skinner

The hon. Gentleman does not care.

Mr. Spicer

The hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) says that I do not care. I remind him that in the last 20 years 70 per cent. of pit closures have taken place under Labour Governments. The hon. Gentleman should remind himself about that when he talks about people who care. On the question of caring, perhaps I should tell the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mr. Jones) that the Government have spent £6 billion in assisting this industry —that is £2 million every working day. We have nothing to learn from the Opposition about caring for the coal industry.

Mr. Neil Hamilton

Does my hon. Friend agree that our opencast coal has nothing to fear from the decline in the dollar? In the private sector at least, firms are anxious to open up new sites and expand the production of coal mined in Britain, at the expense of imported coal, but they are prevented from doing so by British Coal, which is unreasonably delaying the consideration of licence applications.

Mr. Spicer

My hon. Friend is right to say that opencast coal is able to compete with world prices. What my hon. Friend also implies in his question is that the considerable sums of money that British Coal makes — over £200 million a year — from opencast coal go straight back into the development of deep mines. That is often forgotten by the Opposition.