Formation | 1994 |
---|---|
Legal status | Non-departmental public body (NDPB) |
Purpose | Coal mining in the United Kingdom |
Location |
|
Region served
|
United Kingdom |
Membership
|
Staff (160+) |
Chief Executive
|
Philip Lawrence |
Main organ
|
Coal Authority Board (Chairman - Stephen Dingle) |
Parent organization
|
Department of Energy and Climate Change |
Budget
|
£30m (2010) |
Website | www |
The Coal Authority is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government.
It was established under the Coal Industry Act 1994 to manage some functions, in 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 for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (headed by Greg Clark) funds it.
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 twenty four hour call out service for surface hazards.