§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he is prepared to amend section 36 of the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 to enable the National Coal Board to grant licences to a mineral operator to work coal by opencast method where the amount of coal likely to be mined is not likely to exceed 50,000 tonnes.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe Monopolies and Mergers Commission recommended in its recent report on the National Coal Board that the statutory limit on opencast licences should be increased from 25,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes. This recommendation is still under consideration. The National Coal Board agreed in 1981 to consider applications for second licences at opencast sites, so raising the current operating limit at licensed workings to 50,000 tonnes.