§ Mr. Ray PowellTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met the chairman of British Coal; and what subjects were discussed.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerI met the deputy chairman of British Coal on 21 January. We discussed a range of issues affecting the south Wales coal industry.
§ Mr. PowellDid the Secretary of State discuss the new mine at Margam? It is an issue that Labour Members have championed since 1979. In my area alone, 4,500 miners are out of work as a result of the pit closures that have taken place since 1979. The provision of 800 jobs in Margam would be ideal for those people, and I ask the Secretary of State to take action to get that mine started.
§ Mr. WalkerOne of the matters that I discussed with the deputy chairman of British Coal was whether British Coal still wanted to proceed with Margam, as there had been speculation that it did not want to do so. He confirmed that it wished to proceed with Margam. It hopes that agreement will be reached with the unions for six-day working, in which case it would be a viable proposition. I very much hope that those negotiations will take place and that they will be successful.