British_Coal_Corporation
British Coal
Defunct British state-owned fossil fuel producer
The British Coal Corporation was a nationalised corporation responsible for the 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).
| Predecessor | National Coal Board |
|---|---|
| Successor | Coal Authority |
| Formation | 5 March 1987; 37 years ago (1987-03-05) |
| Dissolved | 27 March 2004; 20 years ago (2004-03-27) |
| Legal status | Statutory corporation |
| Headquarters | Hobart House, Grosvenor Place, London SW1X 7AE |
| Products | Coal |
| Owner | UK Government |
Chairman | Sir Robert Haslam (1987–1990) Neil Clarke (1991–June 1997) Philip Hutchinson (June 1997–December 1997) Mike Atkinson (1998–2000) Peter Mason (2000–2004) |
| Act of Parliament | |
| 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. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1987 c. 3 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 5 March 1987 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Coal Industry Act 1987 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The 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.[1][2]
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,[3][4] eventually being dissolved on 27 March 2004.[5][6]
| Colliery | Location |
|---|---|
| Longannet | Fife |
| Point of Ayr | Flintshire |
| Kellingley | Yorkshire |
| Maltby | Yorkshire |
| Prince of Wales | Yorkshire |
| North Selby | Yorkshire |
| Riccall | Yorkshire |
| Stillingfleet | Yorkshire |
| Wistow | Yorkshire |
| Whitemoor | Yorkshire |
| Bilsthorpe | Nottinghamshire |
| Harworth | Nottinghamshire |
| Thoresby | Nottinghamshire |
| Welbeck | Nottinghamshire |
| Daw Mill | Warwickshire |
| Asfordby | Leicestershire |
- "Coal Industry Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 5 July 1994, 1994 c. 21, retrieved 5 May 2016
- "The Coal Industry (Restructuring Date) Order 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 29 September 1994, SI 1994/2553
- "Public Bodies (Chairmen)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 10 April 2002.
- "The Coal Industry Act 1994 (Commencement No.7) and Dissolution of the British Coal Corporation Order 2004: Section 3", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 22 January 2004, SI 2004/144 (s. 3)
- "British Coal sell-off nearing completion". The Independent. 23 July 1996.
- Royce Logan Turner (1995). The British Economy in Transition. Routledge. p. 23. ISBN 9780415111140.
Further reading
- Ashworth, William; Pegg, Mark (1986). History of the British Coal Industry: Volume 5: 1946-1982: The Nationalized Industry. Oxford University Press.
- Brady, Robert A. (1950). Crisis in Britain. Plans and Achievements of the Labour Government. University of California Press. pp. 77–131.