§ 46. Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he can now estimate the loss to the National Coal Board caused by damage to collieries and equipment during the coal strike; and to what extent the cost of replacing damaged equipment will affect the programme of investment in new machinery and trial-boring for new coal seams previously being carried out.
§ Mr. RidleyThe N.C.B.'s provisional assessment is that some £10 million of equipment has been lost, but it has not yet completed its full assessment of damage or its reappraisal of its investment and trial boring programmes.
§ Dr. Gilbertasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he now estimates full coal production will be restored.
§ Mr. RidleyThanks to careful preparatory planning by management and the efforts of the miners since their return to work, the rate of recovery in the coal industry has greatly surpassed the Coal Board's expectations. The recovery of full production, however, still depends on making good the damage sustained by faces and roadways during the strike and this is bound to take some weeks yet.
§ Dr. John A. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he is satisfied that the proposed National Coal Board coal washery settling lagoon at Lowca in Cumberland will be safe, that the proposed site is suitable for the purpose; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what controls are exercised by his Department over the construction of new coal washery, sludge and effluent lagoons by the National Coal Board; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what consultations his Department has held with the National Coal Board concerning the construction of new coal 6W washery settling lagoons; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RidleyLagoons used for the deposit of mine refuse on land occupied by the National Coal Board are subject to the Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act, 1969, and the regulations made there under, which impose requirements with the object of making and keeping tips and lagoons secure. Notice has to be given to Her Majesty's inspectors in advance of the construction of a new lagoon or immediately when there is any change in the design of an active tip or in the nature or location of the type of refuse deposited which might affect its security. The requirements were arrived at in consultation with our Advisory Committee on Tip Safety which also assisted in the production of the National Coal Board's Technical Handbook on the construction and maintenance of tips—including lagoons. I understand that the National Coal Board is not now proceeding with the construction of a lagoon on the Harrington No. 10 tip at Lowca and is seeking an alternative solution.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his estimate, on the basis or recouping the whole of the impact of the new miners' wage claim coupled with National Coal Board losses by raising the price of coal to all consumers, of the additional figure to be added to the sale price of a ton of coal.
§ Mr. RidleyThe National Coal Board has estimated that the rise would have to be at least 20 per cent., though this assumes that there would be no reduction in demand as a result of the price increase. The actual increase in the retail price of a ton of coal would depend on type and locality.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, taking 1962 as the base year, by what percentage coal, gas, fuel oil and electricity have increased in price prior to and excluding the recent settlement of the miners' claim; and what estimate he has made of the extent to which the coal figures would be affected on the basis that coal prices were raised by an average 12 per cent. to meet in part the Wilberforce commitments.
§ Mr. RidleyThere is no simple answer to this question, the figures varying 7W greatly according to the indicator used. The choice of indicator naturally depends on the purpose for which the figures are wanted. The following table gives a broad indication of the overall trend:
Estimated changes 1962–1971 Average colliery proceeds per ton of coal +40 per cent. Average revenue per therm of gas sold -15 per cent. Average revenue per kWh of electricity sold +30 per cent. Published price (including tax) for minimum bulk deliveries of heavy fuel oil, inner zone area +40 per cent. If the pattern of sales were unchanged the figure for coal would have risen to nearly 60 per cent. if there had been a recent 12 per cent. increase in prices.
Figures for various other indicators are given in the Department's Digest of Energy Statistics 1971, tables 94, 96, 97 and 100.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, in connection with the major study of the financial problems of the National Coal Board, he will estimate the effect of a reduction in the productive capacity of the coal industry to 100 million tons per year over a three-year period on the number of mines having to close and on the number employed in the industry on the basis that the most viable collieries are retained,
§ Mr. RidleyThis is an interesting suggestion which will be considered in the major study.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in relation to the major study of the coal industry, what he estimates will be the coal production for each of the next five years; and if he will consider whether a productive capacity of 140 million tons is sustainable in view of a substantial contraction in the market for coal.
§ Mr. RidleyThe competitiveness of coal in the energy market will clearly be a major factor in the level of production in the next five years, but, as can be seen from my right hon. Friend's statement on 6th March, and my speech on 10th March, it will also be necessary in our review of the industry's future, to have regard to such matters as the impact on8W employment and the effect on the regions.—[Vol. 832, c. 1034.]
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what evidence he has received, in connection with the major study of the coal industry, in the industrial field, apart from Imperial Chemical Industries, that companies to a substantial extent dependent upon coal are changing their buying patterns and moving to alternative fuels.
§ Mr. RidleyConsumption of coal by industry—excluding iron and steel—fell from 26½0 million tons in 1961 to 15.6 million tons—provisional figure—in 1971. We shall have to take into account the implications of these figures in our study of the coal industry.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his estimate of the loss of sales sustained by the National Coal Board due to the recent strike, of the loss of plant and equipment due to the absence of safety cover in the mines and of the anticipated contraction in sales in the current year.
§ Mr. RidleyThe National Coal Board estimates that the production lost during the strike and the overtime ban was about 25 million tons. They have provisionally estimated the value of equipment lost at £10 million. No useful estimate can yet be made of past and prospective sales losses.
§ Mr. Brayasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the tonnage of fuel supplied to coal miners free or on concessionary terms, in the latest convenient period, the revenue obtained thereby by the National Coal Board and the equivalent sales value of this tonnage to domestic users.
§ Mr. RidleyThese are matters for the National Coal Board and I am asking the Chairman to write to my hon. Friend.
§ Mr. Parkinsonasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many coal miners retired at normal retirement age during the last calendar year.
§ Mr. RidleyI understand from the National Coal Board that the number of mineworkers who retired by reason of age in 1971 was 3,513.
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§ Mr. Parkinsonasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new miners were recruited during the last calendar year.
§ Mr. RidleyI understand from the National Coal Board that the number of new entrants to coal-mining in 1971 was 13,892. A further 13,569 men re-entered the industry.
§ Mr. Parkinsonasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many miners are due to retire at normal retiring age from the mining industry over the next five years.
§ Mr. RidleyThe National Coal Board estimates that at the end of 1971, 26,500 mineworkers were aged between 60 and 65 years but some of these may leave the industry for reasons other than retirement at normal retirement age.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a detailed statement giving the estimated rise in the price of steel, gas, cars and any other known item resultant upon the 74 per cent. increase in the price of coal.
§ Mr. RidleyNo. The rise in the price of coal will increase manufacturing costs, but it is not possible for me to say to what extent this will be reflected in prices.