asked the Minister of Fuel and Power when the survey of British coalmines regarding vacancies and development work will be completed; and whether he will inform the House of the results.

I regret that I am not in a position to add anything useful to my reply to my hon. Friend's Question on 27th February.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that this is a very important matter, and that if we get a good recruiting campaign which results in a lot of miners coming back it will be possible to reduce the output per man by increasing the number of men?

The number of men employed in the industry is increasing rapidly, and is now up to about 700,000. I understand that the National Coal Board are considering opening new faces, but this is not a matter with which I can deal.