§ Mr. Georgeasked the Minister of Fuel and Power if, in view of the anticipated drastic cuts in the exports of coal, he will give a general direction to the National Coal Board that it should take immediate steps to increase substantially the output of opencast coal and thereby assist in retaining valuable relationships abroad.
§ Mr. Aubrey JonesThe Board is already fully aware of the need for a high level of opencast coal production, which increased by 13 per cent. last year and will, I hope, increase further this year.