British Coal: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Defunct British state-owned fossil fuel producer}}

[[image:British Coal.png|thumb|150px|British Coal company logo]]

{{Use British English|date=October 2020}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = British Coal Corporation

| image = British Coal.svg

| predecessor = [[National Coal Board]]

| successor = [[Coal Authority]]

| formation = {{start date and age|1987|3|5|df=y}}

| dissolved = {{end date and age|2004|03|27|df=y}}

| status = [[Statutory corporation]]

| products = [[Coal]]

| owner = [[Government of the United Kingdom|UK Government]]

| headquarters = Hobart House, Grosvenor Place, London SW1X 7AE

| leader_title = Chairman

| leader_name = [[Robert Haslam (industrialist)|Sir Robert Haslam]] {{small|(1987{{ndash}}1990)}}<br />Neil Clarke {{small|(1991{{ndash}}June 1997}})<br />Philip Hutchinson {{small|(June 1997{{ndash}}December 1997)}}<br />Mike Atkinson {{small|(1998{{ndash}}2000)}}<br />Peter Mason {{small|(2000{{ndash}}2004)}}

}}

The '''British Coal Corporation''' was a [[nationalised]] corporation responsible for the [[coal mining|mining of coal]] in the [[United Kingdom]] from 1987 until it was effectively dissolved in 1997. The corporation was created by renaming its predecessor, the [[National Coal Board]] (NCB).

'''British Coal''' was a former [[United Kingdom|British]] [[corporation]] consisting of the assets of various [[coal]] [[mining]] firms which had been [[nationalization|nationalised]]. Some of these firms were [[bankrupt]] or otherwise financially-troubled and nationalisation allowed them to continue in operation and to provide their workers with employment. Working conditions were also improved under nationalisation in some instances. In any event, nationalisation of major industries (the so-called commanding heights of the economy) was long the basis of the programme of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] during its [[socialism|socialist]] era; the formation of British Coal occurred beginning during the time of Labour leader [[Clement Attlee]] as [[Prime Minister]] during the late [[1940s]].

== History ==

Many of the mines nationalised under British Coal were older, inefficient operations which were nearing the end of their useful life under any circumstances; the corporation required large [[subsidy|subsidies]] from the Government in order to remain in operation. When [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] leader [[Margaret Thatcher]] became Prime Minister in [[1979]], her economic programme centred around the elimination of subsidies and the [[privatization|privatisation]] of most nationalised industries, including British Coal, which was eventually accomplished.

{{Infobox UK legislation

| short_title = Coal Industry Act 1987

| type = Act

| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom

| long_title = An Act to change the name of the National Coal Board to the British Coal Corporation; to make new provision with respect to grants by the Secretary of State to the Corporation; to make provision for securing further participation by organisations representing employees in the coal industry in the management of trusts and other bodies connected with that industry and in the management of superannuation schemes for such employees; and for other purposes connected therewith.

| year = 1987

| citation = 1987 c. 3

| introduced_commons =

| introduced_lords =

| territorial_extent =

| royal_assent = 5 March 1987

| commencement =

| expiry_date =

| repeal_date =

| amends =

| replaces =

| amendments =

| repealing_legislation =

| related_legislation =

| status =

| legislation_history =

| theyworkforyou =

| millbankhansard =

| original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/3/enacted

| revised_text =

| use_new_UK-LEG = yes

| UK-LEG_title = Coal Industry Act 1987

| collapsed = yes

}}

The {{visible anchor|Coal Industry Act 1987}} (c. 3) changed the name of the National Coal Board (NCB) to the '''British Coal Corporation'''. With the passing of the [[Coal Industry Act 1994]], the 16th and last Coal Industry Act, the industry-wide administrative functions of British Coal were transferred to the new [[Coal Authority]] from 31 October 1994.<ref>{{cite legislation UK |type=act |year=1994 |chapter=21 |act=Coal Industry Act 1994 |section= |date=5 July 1994 |accessdate=5 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite legislation UK |type=si |year=1994 |number=2553 |si=The Coal Industry (Restructuring Date) Order 1994 |section= |date=29 September 1994}}</ref>

All economic assets were privatised. The English mining operations were merged with [[RJB Mining]] to form [[UK Coal]], a [[monopoly]]. British Coal continued as a separate organisation until 31 December 1997, after which it was run as a residual legal entity by staff within the Coal Directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo980205/text/80205w18.htm |publisher=UK Parliament |date=5 Feb 1998 |title=House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 5 Feb 1998 (pt 18)}}</ref><ref>{{cite Hansard |house=House of Commons |title=Public Bodies (Chairmen) |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2002-04-10/debates/8b58e03d-fd6c-471f-b3b4-7e946033abc8/PublicBodies(Chairmen) |date=10 April 2002}}</ref> eventually being dissolved on 27 March 2004.<ref>{{Cite legislation UK |type=si |year=2004 |number=144 |si=The Coal Industry Act 1994 (Commencement No.7) and Dissolution of the British Coal Corporation Order 2004 |section=3 |date=22 January 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/british-coal-selloff-nearing-completion-1330271.html |work=The Independent |title=British Coal sell-off nearing completion |date=23 July 1996}}</ref>

== List of collieries ==

{{industry-company-stub}}

{| class="wikitable"

|+British Coal Corporation collieries operating in 1994<ref>{{cite book|title=The British Economy in Transition|url=https://archive.org/details/britisheconomytr00turn|url-access=limited|author=Royce Logan Turner|publisher=Routledge|year=1995|isbn= 9780415111140|page=[https://archive.org/details/britisheconomytr00turn/page/n37 23]}}</ref>

!Colliery!!Location

|-

|Longannet||Fife

|-

|Point of Ayr||Flintshire

|-

|[[Kellingley Colliery|Kellingley]]||Yorkshire

|-

|[[Maltby Main Colliery|Maltby]]||Yorkshire

|-

|[[Prince of Wales Colliery|Prince of Wales]]||Yorkshire

|-

|North Selby||Yorkshire

|-

|Riccall||Yorkshire

|-

|Stillingfleet||Yorkshire

|-

|Wistow||Yorkshire

|-

|Whitemoor||Yorkshire

|-

|Bilsthorpe||Nottinghamshire

|-

|[[Harworth Colliery|Harworth]]||Nottinghamshire

|-

|[[Thoresby Colliery|Thoresby]]||Nottinghamshire

|-

|Welbeck||Nottinghamshire

|-

|[[Daw Mill]]||Warwickshire

|-

|[[Asfordby Colliery|Asfordby]]||Leicestershire

|}

==See also==

[[Category:Defunct companies of the United Kingdom]]

*[[Category:DefunctCoal mining companiesin the United Kingdom]]

*[[History of coal mining#United Kingdom|History of coal mining in the United Kingdom]]

*[[National Coal Board]]

*[[Open-pit coal mining in the United Kingdom]]

== References ==

{{reflist|26em}}

===Further reading===

* Anderson, D. ''Coal: a pictorial history of the British coal industry'' (1982), 104pp; [https://archive.org/details/coalpictorialhis0000ande online], includes hundreds of photographs and a detailed chronology

* {{cite book |last1=Ashworth |first1=William |first2=Mark |last2=Pegg |title=History of the British Coal Industry: Volume 5: 1946-1982: The Nationalized Industry |date=1986 |publisher=Oxford University Press}} [https://archive.org/details/historyofbritish0000unse_n7l6 online]

* {{cite book |last=Brady |first=Robert A. |title=Crisis in Britain. Plans and Achievements of the Labour Government|url=https://archive.org/details/crisisinbritainp0000brad|url-access=registration|year=1950|publisher=University of California Press |pages=77–131}}

==External links==

*[http://dscalm.warwick.ac.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=DServeadv.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqPos=0&dsqSearch=%28%28%28text%29%3D%27british%20coal%27%29AND%28Level%3D%27collection%27%29%29 Catalogue of the British Coal operational research archives] {{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} — ''at the [[Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick]]''.

[[Category:Coal companies of the United Kingdom]]

[[Category:Defunct mining companies of the United Kingdom]]

[[Category:Former nationalised industries of the United Kingdom]]

[[Category:Energy companies established in 1946]]<!--National Coal Board-->

[[Category:Energy companies established in 1987]]<!--British Coal Corp-->

[[Category:Non-renewable resource companies established in 1946]]<!--National Coal Board-->

[[Category:Non-renewable resource companies established in 1987]]<!--British Coal Corp-->

[[Category:Non-renewable resource companies disestablished in 1997]]<!--British Coal Corp-->

[[Category:British companies established in 1946]]

<!--National Coal Board-->

[[Category:British companies established in 1987]]

<!--British Coal Corp-->

[[Category:1997 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]<!--British Coal Corp-->

[[Category:Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom]]

[[Category:Defunct coal mining companies]]