§ Mr. Harold Walkerasked the Minister of Power if he will state, for each division of the National Coal Board, the output last year of each of the categories A, B and C defined in connection with pit closures.
§ Mr. Frederick LeeThe figures for saleable output during the Board's last financial year 1964–65 are as follows:
A B C Division M. tons M. tons M. tons Scotland … 8.0 2.7 3.7 Northumberland … 16.5 6.7 6.8 Durham North West … 7.0 1.8 3.1 Yorkshire … 36.5 3.9 2.5 East Midlands … 39.2 1.9 4.4 West Midlands … 10.8 2.4 0.3 Southwestern … 11.7 3.4 3.0 Collieries which have closed since 28th March, 1964, have been excluded in arriving at these figures. The collieries in Kent have not been classified; their saleable output was 1.5 million ons.
There are many new and expanding pits in Category A which can increase production as required to meet demand.