§ Mr. Maudeasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has received any representations from the National Union of Mineworkers about either the Government's support for the investment programme of the National Coal Board or the payments available to miners under the redundant mineworkers redundancy payments scheme.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerIn August 1983 Mr. Scargill wrote to me and pointed out that the 1977 report "Coal for the Future" had envisaged capital investment for the coal industry of £3,150 million up to 1985. He stated that the 1977 figure at current prices would amount to £6,500 million and compared it with the cash figure quoted by the Government for investment since April 1974 of only £4,600 million. I was able to tell him that in fact capital investment in the industry from April 1974 to July 1983 at current prices amounted to £7,150 million, and I expressed the view that he should be pleased to be relieved of his misapprehension, and to know that capital investment had already been £650 million more at current prices than envisaged in "Coal for the Future".
As for the redundant mineworkers payments scheme, I have received no representations from the NUM suggesting that there should be improvements to the terms recently announced. It has, however, taken up a number of technical details connected with the Scheme in the past, and as a result some improvements have been made.