§ Mr. Doddsasked the Minister of Fuel and Power what is the present expenditure on research and development projects concerning coal; and what does this 200W expenditure amount to per ton of coal production.
§ Mr. P. Noel-BakerJust over £1 million a year. This is the equivalent of about 1¼d. per ton of coal production. This figure includes expenditure by my Department and various other organisations as well as by the National Coal Board.
The figure does not cover research and development by private firms, whether as makers of machinery for the mining, preparation or utilisation of coal, or as large users of coal; nor does it cover development in the sense that the National Coal Board are constantly engaged in the development of mining techniques and machinery at the collieries. No separate figures for such development are available.