§ 46. Sir T. Mooreasked the Minister of Power what steps are being taken to abolish the use of horses in mines.
§ Mr. WoodI have no power to forbid the employment of horses underground, but many people feel this should be done and I have been seeing if the hitherto good reasons for their employment underground still apply under modern mining conditions. The number of horses employed was about 7,000 last year and has been growing less for many years. The National Coal Board has been most anxious to reduce the number and now tells me it expects there will be between 3,000 and 4,000 by 1967 and virtually none in ten years from now.