HC Deb 29 November 1976 vol 921 cc462-4
11. Mr. Skeet

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a further statement on the projected Vale of Belvoir coal development.

Mr. Eadie

I have nothing further to add to what I said in the House on 15th November.

Mr. Skeet

Surely the Minister is aware of the environmental considerations here. These have been experienced in Selby. Will the Minister assure the House that a similar inquiry will be held in due course, after the submission of the planning applications, so that environmentalists and others are able to put forward arguments, together with those who are anxious to extract the coal, so that justice may be done?

Mr. Eadie

I invite the hon. Gentleman to read the statement that I made to the House on 15th November. In that speech I referred to some of the points that he has raised. The hon. Gentleman must be aware that planning considerations are a matter for the Secretary of State for the Environment and not the Department of Energy.

Mr. Jim Marshall

Does my hon. Friend agree that we should all regret that this issue is fast becoming a party political one? Does he further agree that when a decision is taken to exploit a new coalfield that decision should be taken in the context of the country's overall energy requirements, based upon a national energy plan, rather than on the basis of a narrow constituency point of view, important though that may be?

Mr. Eadie

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend when he talks about decisions on energy matters being taken in the interests of the country. It is well known that no country can hope to be an industrial one unless it has adequate and safe supplies of energy. We are very fortunate in this country in having 300 years of coal, and I think that the nation would indict us if we, as the House of Commons, did not take advantage of these valuable energy resources.

Mr. Michael Latham

As the newspapers yesterday suggested that the National Coal Board's existing plans are hopelessly overspent and there will be far higher estimates than originally considered, will the hon. Gentleman inform the House in the near future, first, what the Vale of Belvoir project will cost and, secondly, who will pay for it?

Mr. Eadie

No plan has been submitted on costs. One cannot comment on a plan that does not exist, or on costs that do not exist. On the question of cost, I think that the hon. Gentleman is referring to the "Plan for Coal". If so, I suggest that he awaits the report that my right hon. Friend intends to publish.