Records of the Coal Authority and successor

KD

1995-2025

Records created by the Mining Remediation Authority, formerly known as the Coal Authority, a public body responsible for physical operations within the industry alongside property management and the provision of information.

Board meetings and papers of the authority can be found in KD 4; records of the Executive Committee and Environment Committee are in KD 5 and KD 6 respectively; annual reports and accounts are in KD 1 and datasets of mining reports and subsidence damage are in KD 2 and KD 3.

For series created for regularly archived websites, please see the separate Websites Division.

Public Record(s)

English

12 series

Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated

From 1997 Coal Authority

Topics

Coal

The Coal Authority was established by the Coal Industry Act 1994, becoming operational on 31 October 1994 and taking over certain functions of the British Coal Corporation. It is a non-departmental public body (NDPB). At the time it was established, it reported to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and the authority comprised of seven members appointed by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, including the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer. In November 2024, the Coal Authority changed its public name to the Mining Remediation Authority. Since 2023 it has been a NDBP sponsored by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

The authority has four main areas of activity: licensing coal mining operations and granting leases to exploit coal reserves; processing subsidence damage claims not falling on coal mining companies; the management of property and the historic legacy of past coal mining; and the provision of geological and other information on past and future coal mining. It has also taken on the role of ensuring that sound environmental procedures are followed in all areas of its activities.