§ Mr. Cummingsasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the number and nature of serious injuries in the following coal mines for the last three years; Dawdon Colliery, Murton Colliery, Vane Tempest Colliery and Easington Colliery.
§ Mr. NichollsThe actual number of major accidents reported to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Mines and Quarries which occurred at the mines referred to in the question are as follows:
11984–85 1985–86 1986–87 Dowdon 1 6 9 Murton 2 7 13 Vane Tempest/Seaham — 7 14 Easington — 8 11 1 This covers a 15-month period (January 1984 to March 1985) during which time there was a major industrial dispute. It is not comparable with previous calendar year data. The apparent increase in 1986–87 in the number of major injuries in the industry is mainly accounted for by a change in the reportable injuries under the new Reporting of Injuries Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985 (RIDDOR) which was introduced on 1 April 1986 and widened the coverage of the major injury category. Major injury accident figures from 1986–87 are therefore not comparable with those for earlier years. It is not possible to determine the nature of each reported accident without incurring disproportionate costs.