§ Mr. Masonasked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the annual production figures for each of the last five years of opencast coal mining; whether he will now take steps to curtail the output of opencast coal; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. David HuntAnnual production figures for opencast coal mining over the past five years have been:
million tonnes 1980–81 15.3 1981–82 14.3 1982–83 14.7 1983–84 13.8 1984–85 13.6 The output for 1985–86 is 14.1 m.t. (provisional only).
The level of future opencast coal production is for the NCB to determine in the light of market requirements and the acceptability of individual projects as determined by the planning system.