§ Mr. Masonasked the Secretary of State for Energy how many miners have left the coal industry since April 1985 up to the end of February 1986; and what are the present figures for numbers employed giving surface and underground figures separately.
§ Mr. David HuntBetween 30 March 1985 and 1 March 1986 there was a reduction of 31,637, to 139,742, in the number of men on colliery books. Of this latter figure 114,679 were employed in underground grades.
30W
United Kingdom coal imports* '000 tonnes Origin 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 EC countries France 1 14 7 229 28 Federal Republic of Germany 132 334 482 959 746 Irish Republic 5 3 4 17 12 Netherlands 8 43 86 304 306 Belgium 7 34 63 232 167 Greece — 2 — — — Denmark — — — 11 2 Total EC 153 431 642 1,753 1,263 Non-EC countries Australia 1,791 1,143 1,987 1,859 5,390 United States of America 1,954 2,053 1,142 3,344 3,145 Poland 142 320 509 1,359 1,387 South Africa 80 67 58 257 725 Canada — — — 117 399 Columbia — — — — 89 Bulgaria — — — — 81 German Democratic Republic — — — 74 37 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 34 12 23 11 23 Other 136 36 95 120 97 Total Non-EC 4,137 3,631 3,814 7,141 11,372 Grand Total 4,290 4,062 4,456 8,894 12,635
§ Mr. Masonasked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the latest figures for workers in the coal mining industry in each of the coalfields, and giving the number of pits still working and specifying those which are profitable and unprofitable at the present time.
§ Mr. David HuntAs at 1 March 1986 the numbers of men on colliery books and producing collieries in each NCB Area were as follows:
Men on Books Collieries Scotland 7,735 9 North East 17,952 11 North Yorkshire 20,270 22 South Yorkshire 18,082 19 North Derbyshire 9,344 9 Nottinghamshire 26,723 22 South Midlands 9,358 10 Kent 1,450 3 Western 15,354 13 South Wales 13,474 17 TOTAL 139,742 135 Many pits are making considerable progress with measures to improve profitability but these cannot usefully be assessed over a short period.