 British Coal was formed on 12 July 1946 as the National Coal Board (NCB), which was responsible for the organisation and running of coal extraction.It was under the responsibility of the Minister of Fuel & Power, who presented the board's reports to Parliament.The vesting date for nationalised coal was 1 January 1947, when the assets of approximately eight hundred private colliery companies, the Coal Commission, the service contracts held by the colliery companies, and all staff from the district selling schemes that operated in the United Kingdom were transferred to the NCB.