Coal Authority

Coal Authority

File:Coal Authority logo.jpg
Formation	1994
Legal status	Non-departmental public body (NDPB)
Purpose	Coal mining in the UK
Location	200 Lichfield Lane, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG18 4RG
Region served	UK
Membership	160 staff
Chief Executive	Philip Lawrence
Main organ	Coal Authority Board (Chairman - Stephen Dingle)
Parent organization	Department of Energy and Climate Change
Budget	£30m (2010)
Website	Coal Authority

The Coal Authority is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government.

History

It was established under the Coal Industry Act 1994 to manage some functions which the British Coal Corporation (formerly the National Coal Board) had previously undertaken, including ownership of unworked coal. It is situated in the south of Mansfield, in Berry Hill. It was funded by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, and now the Department of Energy and Climate Change funds it.

Function

Coal Authority sign on former mine on Threshfield Moor in North Yorkshire

It is responsible for licensing coal mining operations and for providing information on coal reserves and past and future coal mining. It settles subsidence claims not falling on coal mining operators. It deals with the management and disposal of property, and with surface hazards such as abandoned coal mine shafts. It operates a 24-hour call-out service for surface hazards.

See also

• Coal mining in the United Kingdom

External links

• Coal Authority
• DECC