asked the Secretary of State for Energy what estimate he has made of the price of United Kingdom deep-mined coal at the power station on the basis of a 20 per cent. pay increase without productivity improvements being awarded to miners.

I understand that if the pay offer that the National Coal Board has made to the National Union of Mineworkers is accepted and on the assumption of some improvement in output, the Board expects the next increase in coal prices to be on average no higher than the rate of inflation. The actual increase for different types of coal will vary, depending on the quality of the coal.