§ Mr. John EvansTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list measures for job retraining programmes and other assistance his Department is planning for mineworkers who will be made redundant following privatisation of British Coal.
§ Mr. EggarA range of programmes and measures is already available to assist people and communities affected by redundancies in the coal industry. The Government will continue to support and encourage initiatives which bring real benefits to coal-mining areas. Specifically, the Government have clearly stated their commitment to increasing the support for the job creation, resettlement and retraining activities of British Coal Enterprise. The European Community RECHAR initiative, which is aimed at providing the economic regeneration of coal-mining areas, will also bring benefits of at least £124 million to such areas.