§ 20. Mr. Eggarasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he is now satisfied with the current performance of the United Kingdom coal industry.
§ Mr. Giles ShawNo, although I welcome the fact that the NCB has made some progress in containing costs and increasing efficiency. However, the board's external financing requirement is expected to be over £1 billion both this year and next. The board's loss before payment of deficit grant, is likely to be over £500 million in 1983–84.