§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Energy what manpower restrictions are placed on private mines operating under National Coal Board licence; what are the reasons for these restrictions; and when they were last reviewed.
§ Mr. EadieSection 36 of the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 empowers the National Coal Board to grant licences for coal mines in which the number of persons employeed below ground does not exceed or greatly exceed 30. Subject to this statutory limit the terms on which licences are granted are the responsibility of the Board.
The purpose of the limit was no doubt to permit the continued operation of mines too small to be appropriate for central control whilst ensuring that the industry as a whole was substantially under public ownership. No formal review of the limit has been carried out in recent times, but as far as I am aware there is no widespread dissatisfaction with it.
§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Energy how many private mines now operate in each coalfield in the United Kingdom; and what is the total manpower.
§ Mr. EadieDetails of the licensed deep mines operating at the end of March 1978 are as follows:
Area Number of Mines Total manpower Scottish 17 283 North East 15 190 Barnsley 1 18 North Derbyshire 4 73 Western 18 253 South Wales 84 601 Total 139 1,418