Britain: An official handbook > 1956

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BRITAIN: AN OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
Mountains it covers an area of 1,200 acres. It contains an arboretum, comprising a
wide variety of native and exotic trees, and is rich in mountain, river and parkland
scenery. Caravan facilities and a camping site for youth organizations are available.
FUEL AND POWER
The main primary sources of the fuel and power used in Great Britain are coal,
petroleum, and water power, while the major secondary sources are electricity
(including hydro-electricity) and coal gas. Inland coal requirements are substan¬
tially met from within the country, but rising home demands have made it necessary
to reduce exports.
Nearly all petroleum is imported (most of it as crude oil) and refined within the
country, only a little being produced from coal, shale and local oil wells. The fuel
and power industries, with the exception of the petroleum industry and coal distri¬
bution, are mainly under public ownership.
The Government’s fuel and power policy has broadly three objectives: to obtain
more coal; to use the coal better; and to supplement supplies of coal with other
sources of energy—atomic energy as soon as possible, natural gas if it can be found
and oil forthwith.
The Government also aims to reduce air pollution, and a Clean Air Bill received
its second reading in November 1955- The Bill empowers local authorities, subject
to the approval of the Minister of Housing and Local Government, to declare
‘ smoke control areas ’, in which the emission of smoke from chimneys will constitute
an offence.
COAL
Coal has been worked in Britain for over 700 years and an organized coalmining
industry has been in existence for over 300 years, some 200 years longer than in any
other European country. British coal exports dominated the world coal market until
about 1910. By 1913—the peak production year—the industry was producing 287
million tons of coal, exporting 94 million tons and employing 1,107,000 workers.
The very- fact that the British coalmining industry was developed so early has
meant that many of the best seams of coal are now worked out; every year coal
has to be mined from deeper and thinner seams and there is a constant struggle to
maintain productivity at its present level.
The industry declined during the first world war owing to a shortage of man¬
power and to the shortage of plant and materials necessary for undertaking any
mechanical improvement. Moreover, alternative sources of energy and lower prices
in continental countries led to a later decline in exports, which had fallen to 67
million tons in 1925.
Attempts at securing economies through amalgamation date from the Sankey
Commission of 1919. In 1930 a Coal Mines Act established commissioners to bring
about the formation of larger and more efficient units. The Coal Act of 1938 trans¬
ferred ownership of the mineral coal to the State and made it the statutory respon¬
sibility of a Coal Commission to accelerate the integration of the industry by still
further reducing the number of separate undertakings. At the outbreak of the second
world war in 1939, however, this process was not far advanced.
Organization under Public Ownership
In 1942 the Government assumed full control of the industry s operations,
though the colliery undertakings continued to own the coal mines. In May 1946