Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people were employed in the (a) deep mine and b) surface mine coal production industry in each year since 2010 up to the most recent year for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.
The table below gives the number of people employed in deep mine and surface mine coal production in Great Britain at the end of each year since 2010:
| Deep Mined | Surface Mining |
2010 | 3,546 | 2,468 |
2011 | 3,695 | 2,277 |
2012 | 3,441 | 2,386 |
2013 | 1,953 | 1,762 |
2014 | 1,766 | 1,835 |
2015 | 477 | 1,498 |
2016 | 48 | 783 |
Source: The data is provided by the Coal Authority and published in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), table 2A, available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/632495/Chapter_2.pdf