HC Deb 31 October 1994 vol 248 cc993-5W
Mr. Tipping

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the salaries of the chairman and chief executive of the Coal Authority.

Mr. Charles Wardle

Sir David White as part-time chairman of the Coal Authority receives a salary of £18,000 a year for one day per week. Mr Neville Washington, who will be full-time chief executive, receives a salary of £55,000 plus pension and a car allowance. He is also eligible for a non-pensionable performance bonus.

Mr. Tipping

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will name the consultants he has employed to give advice on disposal of British Coal's property interests; what are their terms of reference; when their commission was(a) started and (b) completed; and what was the cost.

Mr. Eggar

No consultants have been commissioned by the Department to advise on the disposal of British Coal's non-operational property interests, which are a matter for the corporation.

Mr. Tipping

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the Coal Authority's budget in 1994–95; and what budget is planned for 1995—l96.

Mr. Charles Wardle

The net provision for the Coal Authority in 1994–95, as published in the revised estimates in June, is £30.9 million. The provision for 1995–96 is currently under consideration and will be published in the 1995–96 supply estimates in March 1995.

Mr. Tipping

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the method and timetable of the disposal of British Coal's property interests.

Mr. Eggar

This is a matter for British Coal. The corporation is currently considering the options for transferring its non-operational land and property to the private sector. No decisions have yet been taken.

Mr. Tipping

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will name each member of the Coal Authority; and if he will give details of their experience and background.

Mr. Charles Wardle

I have today announced the appointment of five part-time members of the Coal Authority. The Coal Authority now comprisesSir David White DL (part-time Chairman), Chairman of the Mansfield Brewery plc, of the Nottingham Health Authority, and of the Board of Governors, the Nottingham Trent University. Mr. Neville Washington (full-time member), who was Director of Human Resources and Operations at the Victoria Infirmary, a NHS Trust Hospital in Glasgow. Previously he was in the armed forces, leaving the army in 1992 as a Lieutenant Colonel. Mr. John Cunliffe, barrister and, until his recent retirement, a senior legal adviser within The Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies and Secretary of The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company, plc. Mr. Eric Hassall, a qualified chartered engineer currently Chairman of Wardell Armstrong, mining consultants. He is a Member of Council of the Natural Environment Research Council. His previous career included working as the Crown Mineral Agent and employment with the (then) National Coal Board. Mr. Roy Lynk OBE, National President of the Union of Democratic Mineworkers from 1987 to 1993 and General Secretary from 1985. He was previously a full-time official of the National Union of Mineworkers from 1979, after 19 years as a branch official. He was a coal face worker for nearly thirty years. Mr. Lynk was a Councillor on Ashfield District Council for eight years. Mr. Leslie Rendell, the retiring Director of Planning and Transport of Warwickshire County Council and the immediate past President of the County Planning Officers' Society. Until recently he was Chairman of the West Midlands Regional Aggregates Working Party. He has served as a planning officer in seven counties, including two coal producing regions. His particular interests include environmental sustainability. Mr. Tom Slee, a Chartered Accountant and Finance Director of Pittencrieff Resources plc, an Edinburgh-based oil and gas company. He is also a non-executive director of Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Ltd. His previous career was with Costain Group, Courtaulds and KPMG Peat Marwick.