§ 28. Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will seek powers to require the National Coal Board to engage an independent mining engineer to comment upon any proposal to close a colliery, in any case where this is opposed by the trade unions concerned.
§ Mr. John MooreNo. Colliery closures are a matter for the National Coal Board in consultation with the unions. The NCB and the NUM have a long established colliery review procedure operating at area level, whereby the performance of all collieries in the area is reviewed each quarter, and those collieries which may have to be closed are identified. Before a colliery is closed, the unions are fully consulted through this procedure, and can, if they wish, ultimately appeal to the board at national level.