§ Sir A. Bossomasked the Paymaster-General the total loss so far incurred by the National Coal Board; who has provided the money to cover this deficit; and what action the Government propose to take to safeguard the financial position of the taxpayers under these circumstances.
§ Mr. MaudlingBy Section 1 of the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act, 1946, the National Coal Board must secure that on an average of good and bad years their revenues are not less than sufficient to meet their outgoings on revenue account. At the end of their last financial year they carried forward a loss of £23.8 million, and this was adequately covered by finance available internally to the Board. In the year the Board made a surplus of £12.8 million, and they expect to make a small surplus in the current year. My noble Friend reviews the capital investment and financing programmes of the Board each year, and he does not consider any special measures are called for.