Coal Act 1938
Encyclopedia
The Coal Act 1938 was an Act
Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom
An Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is a type of legislation called primary legislation. These Acts are passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster, or by the Scottish Parliament at Edinburgh....

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 that created the Coal Commission
Coal Commission
The Coal Commission was a United Kingdom government agency, created to own and manage coal reserves. It was set up in 1938 and ceased to operate on 1 January 1947.- History :...

. Criticized for its inconsistencies, the Act was repealed, by degrees, over the next several decades.

Act

The main purpose of the Act was to create a Coal Commission
Coal Commission
The Coal Commission was a United Kingdom government agency, created to own and manage coal reserves. It was set up in 1938 and ceased to operate on 1 January 1947.- History :...

, consisting of five people (including a chairman) appointed by the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...

. The Commission was required to obey all requests of the Board of Trade that were in the "national interest", making it directly under the control of the government of the day. From 1 July 1942 all unworked coal seams and coal mines came into the control of the Commission, who were tasked with managing them in "the interests efficiency and better organisation of the Coal Mining Industry". The Commission was directly prohibited from engaging in coal mining, and as a result owned all the coal but was not allowed to deal with it.

The Act set a sum of £66,450,000 (worth approximately £ as of ) to be paid to the owners of mines and coal seams as compensation. The amount was divided up per region so that, for example, a Yorkshire coal owner would claim from the Yorkshire Coalfield division of the Central Valuation Board. The Act was criticised by academics as a piece of socialist legislation passed by a conservative government, which as a result contained so many amendments, provisos and limitations that it was in many ways unworkable. As an example, the Commission was allowed to open up new underground workings, but was prohibited from disturbing the surface of the ground. It was repealed over several decades by the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946
Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946
The Coal Industry Nationalisation Act of 1946 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It received Royal Assent on 12 July 1946, and provided for the nationalization of the entire British coal industry. It established the National Coal Board which acted as the managing authority for coal...

, the Mines (Working Facilities and Support) Act 1966, the Coal Industry Act 1975 and the Coal Industry Act 1994.
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