§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) whether he will list by name and geographical location the coal mines which have been (a) newly opened, (b) where new seams have been opened up of existing mines and (c) where previously closed mines have been reopened since the publication of "Plan for Coal", indicating also whether those mines involve: (d) winding shafts, (e) drift techniques or (f) are opencast; what is the extra tonnage of coal which will be 932W extracted from each mine when it is fully operational; and what the target for that will be;
(2) whether he will list, by county and approximate geographical location, the sites of (a) the 96 onshore boreholes sunk by the NCB in 1974–75 and (b) the 172 sunk in 1975–76 as part of its national exploration programme arising out of "Plan for Coal", indicating also the number of boreholes which are part of the same project; and what are the exploration proposals for the next three years.
§ Mr. BennI am asking the Chairman of the National Coal Board to write to the hon. Member about the extent and location of the Board's development and exploration programme.