§ Mr. Patrick McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he is satisfied with the operation of the various concessionary coal schemes at present in existence; and if he will publish details of their total cost in cash terms and the value and tonnages of the coal involved.
§ Mr. EadieConcessionary coal schemes are a matter for the National Coal Board and the mining unions, and I am asking the chairman to write to the hon. Member. The amount of concessionary coal given to miners is shown in table 4 of the statistical tables published with the National Coal Board's annual report.
The Government have been contributing to the cost of concessionary coal, since 1965 to Board employees redundant at age 60 or over, and since 1973 to those redundant at age 55 or over. The Government's contribution in the current financial year is expected to be £5.9 million.