§ Mr. Masonasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will introduce legislation to provide a quick local arbitration process to deal with disputed claims against the National Coal Board.
§ Mr. David HuntArbitration is already available in disputes about mining subsidence compensation which arises under the National Coal Board's voluntary code of practice. The possibility of making this option more widely available is one of the many points raised in the Waddilove report, which is presently under consideration.
§ Mr. Portilloasked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the total amount of Government aid including grants, deficit grants, loans and social grants, provided to the National Coal Board between 1 July 1971 and 1 July 1982.
§ Mr. David HuntThe information is compiled on a financial year basis. For the financial years 1971–72 to 1981–82 inclusive, the figures are as follows:
£ million Government grants, payments under the AMPS to redundant mineworkers, and writing-off of loans under the Coal Industry Act 1973 2,374 Net lending to National Coal Board 2,296