§ Sir W. Jenkinsasked the Secretary for Mines the date on which the Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries Company applied for sanction to erect a pithead bath at Tirbach Colliery, Ystalyfera; the date on which sanction was given; what was the amount; the date on which the same engineers of the company reported that the colliery was to be abandoned; and the number employed?
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§ Mr. LloydThe workmen at Tirbach Colliery were amongst the earliest to apply for pithead baths, and in February, 1936, the Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries, Limited, accepted an offer of the Miners' Welfare Commission to provide them. Two months later, the colliery having stopped temporarily, the commission suspended action until renewed assurances as to the future of the colliery were received from the company in October. In July, 1937,the company gave warning of a possible change of policy and the commission therefore again suspended its preparation for building. I am informed that in May, 1939, the company informed the commission that it would then be safe to proceed with the baths, but in December, before tenders had been accepted, the company advised that the contract should be deferred. The pit has not been worked since the end of January this year. The baths were designed to accommodate 600 men and would have cost about £18,000.