§ Mr. Hopkinsonasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works what amount of money per cubic yard of material handled is paid in the reinstatement of the surface at the Wentworth opencast mining site; and to whom is the money paid.
§ Mr. HicksSurface reinstatement involves levelling the subsoil and then spreading the topsoil, which has been stocked separately in the initial stages of excavation. At Wentworth, as in all opencast contracts, the cost of levelling subsoil is included in the schedule rate for digging overburden. It is thus impossible to separate this element, as the amount of work involved varies with the geological and other circumstances at each site. The cost of lifting, transporting and spreading the topsoil, after levelling the subsoil, is 2/6 per cu. yard in the case of all contracts for opencast coal. Payments are made to the site contractor.