§ Mr. Nellistasked the Secretary of State for Energy what costs are incurred by the National Coal Board by the 58,437,000 tonnes of coal stockpiled at the end of September; and if he will make a statement
§ Mr. Giles ShawAs the National Coal Board has said, the cost of funding coal stocks at pitheads, which currently exceed 24 million tonnes, is running at more than £100 million per annum in interest charges. The board also incurs costs through arrangements under which some coal is stocked on customers' premises on deferred payment or similar terms instead of at the pithead. Such costs contribute to the board's deficit on revenue account and are eligible for offset through the deficit grant made available to the board to reduce or eliminate its consolidated loss. The deficit grant for 1982–83 was £374 million.