The Coal Industry Nationalisation Act of 1946 (9 & 10 Geo. 6 c. 59) was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

which nationalised, or brought into state control, the coal industry in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It established the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

as the managing authority for

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

and coal processing activities. It also initially provided for the establishment of consumers' councils. The Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 was the first of a number of Acts promulgated by the post-war Labour government to nationalise elements of the UK's industrial infrastructure; other Acts include the

Electricity Act 1947 The Electricity Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 54.) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which nationalised, or bought into state control, the electricity supply industry in Great Britain. It established a central authority called t ...

; the

Transport Act 1947 The Transport Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6 c. 49) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under the terms of the Act, the railway network, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were nationalised and came under ...

(railways and long-distance road haulage); the

Gas Act 1948 The Gas Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 67) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which nationalised, or bought into state control, the gas making and supply industry in Great Britain. It established 12 Area Gas Boards to own and ope ...

; and the

Iron and Steel Act 1949 The Iron and Steel Act 1949 (12 & 13 Geo. 6. c. 72) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which nationalised, or bought into state control, elements of the iron and steel industry in Great Britain. It established an Iron and Steel ...

Background

The Coal Industry Nationalisation Bill was published in December 1945 by the

Minister of Fuel and Power The Ministry of Power was a United Kingdom government ministry dealing with issues concerning energy. The Ministry of Power (then named Ministry of Fuel and Power) was created on 11 June 1942 from functions separated from the Board of Trade. ...

, Emanuel Shinwell, and got passed through the House of Commons by his Parliamentary Secretary

Hugh Gaitskell Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until his death in 1963. An economics lecturer and wartime civil servant ...

. Several commentators have noted that the Bill was imperfect and had been ‘hastily cobbled together’, just four months after the King's Speech. However, this approach was expedient for the government as the

coal mining industry Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...

was in a poor state following the war and the Labour government wished to show that their manifesto commitments were being implemented. The coal industry nationalisation was different to later enactments. The owners of coal mines and facilities were compensated with government stock; this demonstrated to the miners, who were powerful political force, that the industry belonged to the nation. For later nationalisations compensation was by stock issued by the relevant Board. This simplified the system as compensation was based in the market value of shares in the relevant undertaking.

Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946

The Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on 12 July 1946. Its long title is ‘An Act to establish public ownership and control of the coal-mining industry and certain allied activities; and for purposes connected therewith.’

Provisions

The provisions of the act comprise 65 sections in nine parts, plus four schedules. * ''The National Coal Board'' *: Sections 1–4: Establishment of National Coal Board, its functions, constitution, power of the Minister, and establishment of Consumers' councils, * ''Transfer of assets to the Board'' *: Sections 5–9: Transfer of assets; interests in patents and designs; rights and liabilities; use of certain property; determination of questions of transfer, * ''Compensation for transfer of assets'' *: Sections 10–16: Compensation for transfer and basis for assessment; allocation of transferred interests; Central and District Valuation Boards; compensation; payment of costs; time limits, * ''Compensation for severance, and refunds of capital outlay'' *: Sections 17 & 18: Compensation for severance; refund of capital outlay * ''Satisfaction and disposal of compensation'' *: Sections 19–25: Date of compensation; recipients of compensation; mode of satisfaction; interim income; satisfaction of compensation; restrictions on disposal of stock; protection; debenture and shareholders of companies, * ''Financial provisions'' *: Sections 26–35: Advances by the minister; borrowing powers; payments to the minister; reserve fund; surplus revenues; accounts and audits; issue of stock; general provisions of stock; Consolidated Fund; payments and advances to the Board; account of receipts, * ''Savings, and provisions consequential on nationalisation'' *: Sections 36–45: Provision of superannuation rights; transfer of property; functions of the Coal Commission; abolition of coal advisory committee; Miners' Welfare Commission; safety and health research; winding-up of coal-selling schemes; Doncaster Drainage District, * ''Miscellaneous provisions as to the Board'' *: Sections 46–54: Terms and conditions of employment; taxation; transfer of liability for subsidence; liability of the board; workmen's compensation liabilities; documents of the board; plans of workings; transferred documents; annual report, * ''General'' *: Sections 55–65: Payment of certain expenses; disclosure of information; penalties; prosecutions and offences; notices; arbitration; regulations; interpretation application to Scotland; short title, extent and repeal. * ''First schedule'' *: Assets to be transferred to the board * ''Second schedule'' *: Transfer to the board of rights and liabilities under contracts * ''Third schedule'' *: Provisions as to Selling Schemes under part I of the

Coal Mines Act 1930 The Coal Mines Act 1930 was an Act of Parliament which introduced a system of quotas in the coal mining industry of Great Britain. It was a major achievement of the Labour Party, which revoked the eight hour day that had been enacted in 1926, repl ...

, and as to the South Yorkshire Mines Drainage Committee * ''Fourth schedule'' *: Enactments repealed

Later enactments

The following Acts amended elements of the 1946 Act. The Coal Industry Act 1949 (13 and 14 Geo. 6 c. 53) amended and repealed parts of the 1946 Act including the composition of the National Coal Board; extended the area of relevant activities; and terminated contracts. The Miners’ Welfare Act 1952 (15 and 16 Geo. 6 and 1 Eliz. 2 c. 23) dissolved the Miners’ Welfare Commission. The Coal Industry Act 1956 (c. 61). The Coal Industry Act 1965 (1965 c. 82) made provision for borrowing by, and loans by the Minister of Power to, the National Coal Board. The Mines (Working Facilities and Support) Act 1966 (c. 4) consolidated Part I of the Mines (Working Facilities and Support) Act 1923. The Coal Industry Act 1971 (1971 c. 16) extended the powers of the National Coal Board. The Coal Industry Act 1977 (1977 c. 39) amended the financial powers of the National Coal Board. The Coal Industry Act 1987 (1987 c. 3) changed the name of the National Coal Board to the

British Coal Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. The Coal Industry Act 1990 (1990 c. 3) made new provision for grants by the Secretary of State to the British Coal Corporation. The Coal Industry Act 1994 (1994 c. 21) established the functions of a new body the

Coal Authority The Coal Authority is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). On behalf of the country, it owns the vast majority of unworked coal in Great Brit ...

; restructured the coal industry, transferred the property, rights and liabilities of the British Coal Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries; and made provision for the dissolution of the corporation; abolished the Domestic Coal Consumers’ Council.

References

{{Reflist United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1946 Coal mining in the United Kingdom Nationalisation in the United Kingdom Austerity in the United Kingdom (1939–1954) Coal industry

Background

Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946

Provisions

Later enactments

See also

References