§ Mr. G. MACDONALDasked the Secretary for Mines whether he will state the number of coal mines abandoned during 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, and 1935, giving separate figures for Lancashire and Cheshire, and the number of men who were employed in each case?
2995W
Captain CROOKSHANKThe information is as follows:
Year. Pits abandoned. Number. No. of Wage-earners employed. Great Britain. 1931 174 14,692 1932 162 14,381 1933 119 8,395 1934 118 4,886 1935 (to date) 48 952 Lancashire and Cheshire. 1931 14 2,141 1932 17 2,492 1933 8 588 1934 6 636 1935 4 26 (to date) Note.—Of the 621 pits abandoned, 326 were small pits employing 10 men or less each and in the aggregate 1,300 men. Similarly in Lancashire and Cheshire there were 13 small pits employing 53 men.