Britain: An official handbook > 1966

INDUSTRY 28l
responsible through him to Parliament, consists of a chairman and not fewer
than eight or more than 11 other members.
The National Coal Board has the exclusive monopoly to mine coal in
Great Britain, though it may license privately owned undertakings to work
small mines not employing more than 30 underground workers, and also
to work open-cast sites where the total output is not expected to exceed
25,000 tons.
The NCB is responsible for its own regional organisation. The main
collieries, numbering 545 at the beginning of 1965, are grouped into 40 areas
which are the basic units for commercial management; their size varies
according to geological, geographical and other technical considerations. The
areas are grouped into eight divisions which roughly correspond to the main
coal-bearing regions. A divisional board for each division supervises and
co-ordinates the work of the areas (except in the small south-eastern division,
which is administered by a general manager), formulates divisional policy,
and is answerable to the NCB, which is responsible for questions of national
policy, finance and the co-ordinating of major schemes of development. The
day-to-day work of running the collieries is under the direction of colliery
managers. The NCB, however, has no monopoly of sales or distribution. It
makes some direct sales to large consumers and also retail sales in a few areas.
Most retail distribution is in the hands of private firms.
The NCB has made surpluses in some years and deficits in others. In
certain areas, such as Scotland, Lancashire and South Wales, deficits have
been persistent, and profits from areas of high productivity, for instance the
East Midlands, have not been sufficient to cover the losses. The Board’s aim
is to break even, after paying interest and making proper provision for
depreciation. By April 1965 the cumulative deficit amounted to £90-8 million.
The decision by the Government to write down the total capital debt to the
Exchequer (see p. 283) will make an appreciable reduction in the annual
interest charges now borne by the Board.
Production and It has been estimated that Britain’s workable reserves of coal will last for
Manpower about 200 years at current rates of consumption.
The main coal-bearing areas are: (1) the Yorkshire, Derbyshire and
Nottinghamshire field, which produces about 48 per cent of the total output,
(2) the Durham and Northumberland field, (3) the South Wales field, and
(4) the Scottish field. Other important coal-bearing areas are those of Lanca¬
shire and the West Midlands (Staffordshire and Warwickshire). Prospecting
for coal continues both inland and off the north-east coast of England.
The main trends in coal production and manpower since 1947 are shown
in Table 15.
In addition to exploration for new workings, forward planning lays emphasis
on the need for further mechanisation and the reorganisation of the haulage
system. With machinery rapidly replacing manpower, productivity rose by
23 per cent between 1961 and 1965. At mechanised faces average output per
manshift is 6-5 tons, compared with 3-75 tons at non-mechanised faces, the
average for all mines being about 5 tons. In 1964 output per manshift at NCB
mines rose by 4-2 per cent to 5-4 tons with 26,000 fewer workers.
Consumption
and Overseas
Trade
Coal consumption in Britain increased by an average annual rate of nearly
4 million tons between 1947 and 1956; inland sales fell sharply between 1956
and 1959 and large stocks of coal accumulated at pit heads. Growing competi¬
tion from oil, increasing efficiency in the use of coal and reduced requirements