HC Deb 26 July 1982 vol 28 cc727-8
1. Mr. Heddle

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has received any representations from organisations representing farmers or landowners in connection with claims for compensation arising from coal mining subsidence following the publication of the Flowers report on coal and the environment.

The Under-Secretary of State for Energy (Mr. John Moore)

I have received representations from the National Farmers Union and the British Property Federation.

Mr. Heddle

I thank my hon. Friend for the sympathetic and realistic attitude that he and his Department have taken towards compensation for coal mining subsidence. In view of the application by the National Coal Board to work coal under the Vale of Belvoir, does my hon. Friend agree that people whose property suffers subsidence from coal mining do not receive the same consideration as property owners whose properties are acquired for other purposes? Will he have consultations with his colleagues in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of the Environment to see that fairness and equity prevail in the future?

Mr. Moore

I thank my hon. Friend for his kind remarks. We all wish to see a proper balance struck between the interests and needs of the coal industry, of property holders, and of the environment. I take his point about the need for consultation, which I know exists, and I shall stress that to my ministerial colleagues.

Mr. Rowlands

I represent a community in which for nearly a 100 years properties have suffered from subsidence. If there is to be a new regime for the Vale of Belvoir or anywhere else, will it extend to communities that have long suffered from that problem?

Mr. Moore

I take the hon. Gentleman's point. We all appreciate the excellent work of the Commission on Energy and the Environment, and the degree to which the CENE report has led to detailed debates with many local authorities, who have considerable experience in such matters.

Mr. Hughes

Will the. Minister accept that there will be considerable support from both sides of the House for legislative action to improve the present regime whereby the National Coal Board is judge, jury assessor and compensator for too many people?

Mr. Moore

The hon. Gentleman will be aware from our debates that that, among other matters, is being considered in the Government's answer to the CENE report recommendations.

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