§ Lord Mason of Barnsleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the totals of redundancy payments paid to mineworkers in each of the years since 1985; and what has been the total financial aid given to British Coal during this period.
§ Lord Cavendish of FurnessUntil March 1987 redundant mineworkers were eligible for lump sum payments at redundancy and weekly benefits until retirement age under the Government's Redundant Mineworkers Payments Scheme (RMPS). From April 1987 new arrangements were introduced whereby the Government provides restructuring grant to British Coal which contributes towards the cost of the corporation's costs on redundancy, redeployment, retraining and job creation. Redundancy payments as such became the responsibility of British Coal. Total RMPS and restructuring grant expenditures from 1985 have been as follows:
Year RMPS Restructuring Grant £ million £ million 1985–86 562.6 — 1986–87 609.9 — 1987–88 295.2 231.2 1988–89 168.3 207.2 1989–90 125.9 379.6 1990–91 95.4 225.9 The total financial aid paid by the Government to the British Coal Corporation from 1985–86 to 1990–91 was £9,983 million.