National Coal Board and British Coal Corporation: Operations Directorate and Operations...

This series from the Operations Department and its predecessors contains policy papers, minutes and papers of meetings, and correspondence on operational matters.

This series has been arranged in former file reference number order, where they exist, and in chronological order under separate sub-headings.

For records of the Technical Directorate see COAL 87

• British Coal Corporation, Operations Department, 1991-1997
• British Coal Corporation, Operations Directorate, 1987-1991
• British Coal Corporation, Technical Department, 1987-1991
• National Coal Board, Mining Department, 1971-1985
• National Coal Board, Operations Directorate, 1985-1987
• National Coal Board, Production Department, 1946-1971
• National Coal Board, Technical Department, 1985-1987

In 1998 British Coal Corporation

Topics

Coal

Mining and quarrying

The predecessors of these departments were the Production Department and Mining Department and Technical Department. However, after the strike of 1985 there was a major re-organisation at all levels and more emphasis was put on executive directorship.

The Technical Department, absorbing the Mining Department and the Mining Research and Development Establishment, was set up in 1985. At this time the operational side of the industry was being more closely held to account and there was a move to clearly identify controllable expenditure from overheads.

Against this background it was decided that there should be a separation of policy making and service provision at Headquarters. This eventually resulted in the formation of a separate Operations Directorate. In 1991 the Technical Department merged with Operations Directorate to form the Operations Department.