§ Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many applications the Government have made since 1973 to the Commission of the European Communities under article 56.2.(b) of the treaty of Paris for workers in the coal industry; how many of these workers were employed in (a) British Coal NCB deep mines, (b) opencast sites and (c) licensed mines; and how much was received from the ECSC budget for each sector.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerA total of 13 applications have been made, one covering the years 1973 and 1974, and one for each subsequent year up to 1986. An application for the period 1 January to 28 March 1987 is expected to be made shortly. All the redundancies included in previous applications have arisen from the closure, partial closure or merger of British Coal deep mines. However it would involve disproportionate cost to calculate the number of workers included in the applications who were actually employed at British Coal deep mines, as opposed to the number employed at other British Coal units such as area services. No workers employed at opencast sites or licensed mines have been included in the applications.