§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what action he will take in order to provide new employment opportunities in areas which have lost mining jobs since 1988;
(2) what plans he has to increase employment in coal mining areas;
(3) what new investment initiatives have been proposed for revitalising areas which have previously been economically dependent on the British coal industry;
(4) what proposals he has for attracting new high technology industry to declining mining areas.
§ Mr. Sainsbury[holding answer 16 December 1992]: Since 1988 there have been a number of measures to provide new employment opportunities in areas which have lost mining jobs. Those areas which are also assisted areas are, amongst other things, eligible for regional selective assistance which provides funding for firms with projects that safeguard or create employment. Within the assisted areas, English Estates has also been able to provide sites and premises for business. In addition most of the areas concerned are eligible for and benefit from support under the European structural funds objective 2 and RECHAR programmes. British Coal Enterprise has also been active in these areas and its initiatives have successfully created employment for many former British Coal employees.
More recently, my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade announced on 13 and 19 October a 485W substantial package of measures to assist areas which may suffer from job losses in the mining industry. The measures include—an £85 million programme of premises/sites provision by English Estates; a £75 million package of training/counselling measures; enhanced assisted area status for Barnsley, Doncaster and Mansfield; £11 million of unallocated European structural funds; £5 million coalfield areas fund for local authority measures; the deployment of enterprise zones where appropriate; nearly £2 million for the Tyne and Wear development corporation; funding for the emerging East Midlands development organisation; the extension of regional enterprise grants for small firms; and extra help for inward investment promotion and for local regeneration agencies. In addition, British Coal will clear the sites of any closed collieries quickly and British Coal Enterprise is implementing measures to assist ex-British Coal employees. Lord Walker is acting as a co-ordinator of these measures and is advising my right hon. Friends the President of the Board of Trade and the Secretary of State for Wales. The shape and timing of these latest measures will be reconsidered in the light of the outcome of the coal review.