§ Mr. Rostasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is the closure schedule for the less efficient coal pits;
(2) what is the expected loss of output once the less efficient coal pits have been closed;
(3) what increased output he expects from coal pits as new investment takes effect;
(4) what plans he has for the development of new coal production; and when he expects such coal to come on stream.
§ Mr. Eadie"Plan for Coal" involves the creation of 42 million tonnes of new colliery capacity with the object of48W achieving an annual colliery output of 120 million tonnes by the mid-1980s. The proposed energy strategy outlined in the Green Paper on energy policy—Cmnd. 7101—involved the creation of further new capacity, beyond the "Plan for Coal", to come into production in the late 1980s and the 1990s.
"Plan for Coal" originally assumed that an average of some 3–4 million tonnes of capacity would be lost through exhaustion, but in fact the rate has been lower than this. Closure of pits is a matter for the National Coal Board which consults the unions in accordance with the established colliery review procedure.