HC Deb 11 November 1998 vol 319 cc223-4W
Mr. Nicholls

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list for each year from 1979 to 1997 what sums of compensation have been(a) paid to individual coal miners as a result of pit closures and (b) invested in regions of the United Kingdom to compensate for the closure of coal mines. [57329]

Mr. Battle

The information is as follows:

(a) The Department does not have information on total compensation paid to individual coal miners solely as a result of pit closures initiated by the previous Government. The table sets out the restructuring costs of British Coal Corporation since 1979. In addition, the Government made payments to individual mineworkers under the Redundant Mineworkers Payments Scheme (RMPS) which was introduced in 1967. This Scheme closed to new entrants after March 1987, but payments continue until the last beneficiary reaches the age of 65 in 2002.

£ million
Financial years British Coal Corporation exceptional restructuring costs1 RMPS
1979–80 76 15
1980–81 108 15
1981–82 181 48
1982–83 183 80
1983–84 344 190
1984–85 242 200
1985–86 691 563
1986–87 798 610
1987–88 632 295
1988–89 400 168
1989–90 881 126
1990–91 163 93
1991–92 525 61
1992–93 767 43
1993–94 481 33
1994–95 270 29
1995–96 8 23
1996–97 0 20
1997–98 0 12
Total 6,750 2.624
1 British Coal Corporation Annual Report and Accounts (various)

(b) The Department does not collect information on amounts invested in regions of the United Kingdom solely as a result of pit closures. The Coalfield closures programme in 1992 was expected to cost the Government £1 billion in redundancy payments and measures to help communities affected, and in 1993 the previous Government committed £200 million in regeneration funding. However, this sum fell below what was needed. This Government set up the Coalfields Task Force to investigate how the Government can best help regenerate the Coalfields Communities and draw together support offered to them. We will shortly be reporting on the implementation of the Task Force's recommendations.