The Earl of Halsburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many pit closures took place in each of the decades 1950–59, 1960–69, 1970–79 and in each of the year's 1980, 1981, and 1982; and what were the associated tonnages of coal withdrawn from production during each of the same periods.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy (The Earl of Avon)I am informed by the National Coal Board that detailed information as to tonnage capacity of pits closed in earlier decades is not readily available. However, the information in the following table gives some impression of what occurred.
Year Number of pits at end of year Reduction of number of pits compared to 10 years previously Production in year (million tonnes) Fall in production compared to 10 years previously (million tonnes) 1950 901 — 205.6 — 1960 698 203 186.8 18.8 1970–71 292 406 135.5 51.3 1980–81 211 81 110.3 25.2 In recent years more detailed information is available and is as follows:—
Year Number of pits closing Production of pits closing in year before closure (million tonnes) 1980–81 9 1.484 1981–82 10 1.935 1982–83 6* 1.492 *Excludes Kinneil colliery, which ceased production during 1981–82 and closed during 1982–83.