§ Mr. Chris Pattenasked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the average output per man in the National Coal Board in each of the last five years and at the latest date for which figures are available; and what are the comparable figures for output per man in coal mines in the United States of America, West Germany, France and Belgium.
§ Mr. John Moore:Information on a consistent basis is readily available only for countries in the European Community and then only on the basis of output per man underground. The latest available information is given in the table which follows. The figures should be interpreted with caution since mining conditions vary widely in the different countries and there may be variations in definitions.
Output Per Man-Hour Underground*
Kilograms 1977 1978 1979 1980 United Kingdom 363 376 385† 384† Germany, Federal Republic of 521 533 546 539 France 325 332 337 352 Belgium 283 281 276 279 * Figures for 1976 are not shown because the previous statistical series from Eurostat is not comparable.† These figures for the United Kingdom relate to 1979–80 and 1980–81. Because the National Coal Board changed the method of calculating productivity from April 1979, the figures are not comparable with those for 1977 and 1978.SourceEurostat Coal Monthly Bulletins, except for United Kingdom.