Coal Industry Act 1977

7 Payments to redundant workers

(1) For the purpose of providing assistance to persons made redundant by the closure of coal mines, the reduction in the number of persons employed thereat or the consequent reduction in ancillary services and facilities the Secretary of State may make a scheme providing for the making of payments to or in respect of persons of any prescribed class who at any time between 17th July 1967 and the final date as defined in subsection (3) below—

(a) are employed at a coal mine or at any place of a prescribed class used for providing services or facilities ancillary to the working of one or more coal mines, and

(b) become redundant within the meaning of the scheme in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

(2) The payments to be made under a scheme under this section shall be either—

(a) payments by the Secretary of State to persons to whom the scheme applies in accordance with subsection (1) above, or

(b) payments by the Secretary of State to the Board in respect of the carrying out by the Board of arrangements relating to concessionary coal.

(3) In subsection (1) above " the final date" means 29th March 1981 or, if the Secretary of State by order contained in a statutory instrument so directs, 28th March 1982.

An order shall not be made under this subsection unless a draft of the order has been laid before the Commons House of Parliament and approved by resolution of that House.

(4) The aggregate amount of the payments made by the Secretary of State under this section and section 3 of the Act of 1967 during the financial years of the Board ending in March 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978 shall not exceed £100 million.

(5) Subject to subsection (6) below, the aggregate amount of the payments made by the Secretary of State under this section during the financial years of the Board ending in March 1979, 1980 and 1981 shall not exceed £90 million.

(6) If an order is made under subsection (3) above, subsection (5) above shall not apply, but the aggregate amount of the payments made by the Secretary of State during the financial years of the Board ending in March 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982 shall not exceed £120 million.

(7) The power to make a scheme under this section shall be exercisable by order contained in a statutory instrument, and an order made under this subsection may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order so made.

An order shall not be made under this subsection unless a draft thereof has been laid before and approved by the Commons House of Parliament.

(8) In this section—

• " concessionary coal " means coal or other solid fuel supplied free of charge or at reduced prices,

• " prescribed " means prescribed by a scheme under this section.

(9) Any sums required by the Secretary of State for making payments under a scheme under this section shall be defrayed out of money provided by Parliament.

(10) Section 3 of the Act of 1967, section 2 of the Act of 1971, and section 4 of the Act of 1973, which are superseded by this section, shall cease to have effect, but nothing in this Act is to be taken to prejudice the validity of any scheme made before the commencement of this Act under section 3 of the Act of 1967, and any such scheme may be varied or revoked as if made under this section.