Coal (Hansard, 9 February 1994)

§ Mr. Wilson
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he takes to ensure that coal imported to the United Kingdom from Colombia is mined under conditions which do not breach international standards on the use of child labour; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Eggar
We have received assurances from the Colombian authorities that none of the United Kingdom' s coal imports from Colombia are produced by child labour, and that their Government are attempting to eliminate the practice where it does occur in illegal family-run mines. Most of the coal produced in Colombia for the United Kingdom comes from the El Cerrejon mine which is run by Exxon to high standards. Representatives of the United Kingdom's two major coal importers have been to that mine to inspect conditions and are satisfied that no children are employed there.

§ Mr. Wigley
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to safeguard the environment in areas likely to be affected by the granting of compulsory rights orders by the local authority after privatisation of the coal industry.

§ Mr. Eggar
The Government have announced a review of the regime for compulsory access to land for minerals extraction contained in the Mines (Working Facilities and Support) Act 1966, which applies to all minerals including, coal. The intention of this review is to produce an integrated regime for access to minerals that will be appropriate for the next century. As a transitional measure during the review, the Government intend to retain the compulsory rights order (CRO) provisions of the Opencast Coal Act 1958, but only until the end of 1999.
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It is the Government's intention that CROs should be available to opencast operations as a matter of last resort only. The Coal Industry Bill would transfer to the Coal Authority the power to make CROs, but it is intended that the authority should not exercise this power unless it is satisfied that the applicant has made all reasonable efforts to secure the rights by agreement, but this has not been possible because: the owners of the land are too numerous, or cannot be identified; or the owner(s) do not have power to grant the rights sought; or the owner(s) have unreasonably refused to negotiate, or sought unreasonable terms. To come into force, a CRO must be confirmed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, or for Scotland or Wales as appropriate. My right hon. Friends will confirm a CRO only if they are satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so.
As now, CROs will only be used in exceptional circumstances. There is no reason at this stage to think that the use of CROs will more or less likely in any area of Britain's coalfields.
All new opencast development proposals will of course require planning permission and will continue to be scrutinised by planning authorities. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has recently issued draft revised guidelines, which set demanding environmental tests for the industry.

§ Mr. Wigley
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what safeguards and compensatory arrangements he plans after privatisation of the coal industry to protect local communities and individuals from pollution of rivers and streams by old coal workings; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Eggar
The Government will ensure that all British Coal's current responsibilities will continue to be discharged following privatisation. The Coal Authority will be responsible for water pollution from abandoned mines, except to the extent that any part of the responsibility may be passed to the private sector through leases.
All discharges into controlled waters, including any from abandoned mines, will continue to be subject to the pollution control regime of the Water Resources Act 1991. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is currently reviewing the legal framework governing discharges from abandoned mines in general.

§ Mr. Duncan Smith
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to offer to the private sector further pits closed by British Coal.

§ Mr. Eggar
The Government are committed to ensuring that any closing pits are made available to the private sector.
To date, 28 pits have been made available by British Coal for lease/licence. Decisions on lease/licence are a matter for British Coal.
British Coal has indicated that the corporation is unlikely to offer any further closing pits for lease/licence. It is the Government's intention, therefore, to offer such pits in parallel to the privatisation regional packages. Such pits would meanwhile be kept on care and maintenance basis. Detailed arrangements will be announced within the next few weeks when expressions of interest are invited from potential bidders.
The chairman of British Coal has assured me that no equipment will be removed from the pits proposed for 314W closure at general review meetings last week unless it is essential for safety reasons or the reserves of any of the pits are reallocated to adjacent mines.