Coal

HC Deb 04 November 1992 vol 213 cc305-6W

17. Mr. Ralph Howell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent inquiries he has received from the private sector about buying coal waste.

Mr. Heseltine

None. This is a matter for the owners of coal waste, including British Coal.

Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his statement of 19 October, if he will set out a disaggregated breakdown of the £18 billion investment he stated has been made in the British coal industry since 1979.

Mr. Eggar

Financial assistance made available to the coal industry from 1979–80 to 1991–92 inclusive was as follows:

	£ million
Deficit grant	4,748
Deficiency grant	6,153
Operating grant	95
Social and restructuring grants	4,414
Redundant Mineworkers Payments Scheme	2,477
Total	17,887

The Government have approved capital expenditure by British Coal of nearly £8 billion over this period.

Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many tonnes of coal were sold by British Coal to customers other than the Central Electricity Generating Board, National Power and PowerGen in each of the last five years, giving a separate figure for exports in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar

Figures for sales to the United Kingdom market, excluding power stations and exports are as follows:

		million tonnes
	United Kingdom Consumption, excluding Power Stations	Exports
1987–88	29.3	2.2
1988–89	28.3	1.8
1989–90	26.7	2.6
1990–91	26.8	2.1
1991–92	24.5	1.4

Requirements for coal in United Kingdom sectors other than electricity generation have been declining steadily for many years and have fallen by 16 per cent. in the past five years alone.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what tonnages of coal were imported by(a) the electricity authorities and (b) private generators in the latest year for which figures are available.

Mr. Eggar

The amount of coal imported by the major electricity generators in the United Kingdom in 1991 was 7,260,000 tonnes. Figures for coal imports by small, private, industrial generators are not available.

Mr. William O'Brien

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what amounts of coal, and from which countries, have been imported into the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.

Mr. Eggar

[holding answer 3 November 1992]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden) on 30 October 1992, Official Report, column 956.