§ Mr. BATEYasked the Secretary for Mines the number of mines closed in the county of Durham during the last 12 months; and the number of miners now unemployed?
§ Colonel LANE-FOXIn the county of Durham 75 pits, formerly employing 22,300 wage earners, have closed since 1st April, 1924. In the same period five pits employing 270 wage earners have been opened or reopened. I am unable to give the number of colliery workers in the county of Durham claiming unemployment benefit, but the Ministry of Labour's latest figure for the whole of the country is 148,248, representing 11.8 per cent. of the total number of insured persons in the coal mining industry.