§ Mr. Ness Edwardsasked the Minister of Power how many individual pits have been abandoned since the mining industry has been nationalised.
§ Mr. WoodI have asked the Chairman of the National Coal Board to write to the right hon. Gentleman.
§ Mr. Ness Edwardsasked the Minister of Power (1) what is the capital value of those pits for which compensation was paid and which have since been closed;
(2) what amount of the capital charges now borne by the mining industry relates to collieries now abandoned;
11W(3) how many pits have been abandoned in the South-Western Region by the National Coal Board; what is the capital value of those pits; and what amount of the capital charges now borne on the accounts of the division relates to the compensation for the properties now abandoned.
§ Mr. WoodI have asked the Chairman of the National Coal Board to write to the hon. Member about the number of collieries that have been abandoned in South Wales.
The global sum of compensation for colliery assets, vested in the National Coal Board, was divided by Valuation Boards among what were known as compensation units. These often comprised more than one colliery, and in these cases the values of individual pits were not computed. For this reason it is not possible to compute the capital value of pits which have been closed or the capital charges still borne by the Board in respect of them.