§ Mr. George Rodgersasked the Secretary of State for Energy if the anticipated production of coal through opencast working is being achieved.
§ Mr. Eadie:By the last financial year, opencast output of the National Coal Board had been increased to 13.3 million tons. Further increases in order to achieve the"Plan for Coal"target of 15 million tons per annum will depend on a number of factors, including the grant of the necessary site authorisations.