§ Mr. DAYasked the Secretary for Mines the number of mines that have been closed in England and Wales for the 12 months ended to the last convenient date, and how many persons were affected by those closings?
§ Mr. TURNERDuring the 12 months ended 11th January, 1930, 262 pits in England and Wales, employing 14,400 wage-earners, have closed and not reopened. Nearly 200 of these pits were very small, employing less than 20 men each. There was, however, a net increase of nearly 40,000 in the total number of wage-earners employed in the coal mining industry in England and Wales during the same period.