§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in the Official Report for each of the years 1974 to 1979, the best available figures for the following: total coal production, manpower employed in coalmining, average hours worked per man employed, output of coal per man employed, changes in productivity per man from one year 815W to the next, and profit or loss reported each year by the Coal Board.
§ Mr. John MooreCoal statistics are published in the Department's annual
52 week periods 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 Total coal production* United Kingdom (million tonnes) 110.2 128.6 126.9 122.2 122.6 121.5 Employees engaged† in coal production, at end of year(thousands) 249.3 255.8 251.1 250.6 248.0 241.6 Average number of manshifts‡ worked per week per wage-earner at NCB collieries (number) 3.50 4.01 3.93 3.92 3.92 3.91 Output per man-year at NCB collieries (tonnes) 392 475 463 448 442 449 Change over previous year (percent.) -18 +21 -3 -3 -1 +2 Output per manshift overall at NCB collieries (tonnes) 2.15 2.29 2.28 2.21 2.19 2.24 Change over previous year (percent.) -7 +7 0 -3 -1 +2 Profit (+) or loss (-)§ (£ million) -130.7 0 +5.3 +27.2 +20.4 N.A. * Includes NCB and licenced collieries, opencast sites, and an estimate of slurry, etc., recovered and disposed of other than by the NCB. † At NCB and licensed collieries and opencast sites. ‡ A manshift is the normal period of attendance at the colliery by one man in the day, i.e. in most cases 7¼ hours plus one winding time underground, or 8 hours on the surface, inclusive of mealtimes. Actual hours worked are not recorded. § Surplus or deficit, reported in the NCB Annual Reports and Accounts, after historic cost depreciation, interest, grants under the Coal Industry Acts, tax, extraordinary items, minority interests, etc.