§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list by year for the last five years(a) the number of private deep coal mines, (b) their locations, (c) the number of miners employed therein and (d) the number of miners employed by British Coal for the same periods; and what assessment he has made of the implications for private deep coal mines of the proposed privatisation of the electricity industry.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerPoints(a) to (d) are matters for British Coal, and I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member. The privatisation of the electricity supply industry should provide new opportunities for the coal industry as a whole.