§ Mr. TippingTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the amount of subsidy paid in respect of deep mined coal as outlined in "Prospects for Coal", the number of tonnes this reflects, the number of individual contracts involved and outstanding bids waiting the approval of the European Commission. [29901]
§ Mr. PageSince the coal subsidy was announced in March 1993, 10 offers have been made. To date, £12,776,193 has been paid in respect of almost 1 million tonnes of coal delivered since April 1993. One application, which was received just before the scheme ended on 31 March 1995, is currently being considered.
European Commission approval for payments in respect of production in 1993 was given in Commission decision C(94)883 of 29 March 1994. Approval for payments in respect of production the financial year 1994/95 was given in Commission decision C(94)1436 of 1 June 1994.