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10.49 am
The Minister for Energy and Competitiveness in Europe (Mrs. Helen Liddell): I join colleagues in congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley,
West and Penistone (Mr. Clapham) on securing the debate. He is a great advocate for the coal industry and the people who work in it. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who has never lost sight of the fact that it is the people in the industry who suffer as a consequence of decline in that industry. He mentioned my empathy with the industry--I have great empathy with it. My hon. Friend the Member for Cynon Valley (Ann Clwyd) asked me to listen sympathetically to the debate. I assure the House that I have listened sympathetically. I am also conscious that a substantial number of my hon. Friends have not been successful in catching your eye, Mr. Deputy Speaker, because of the pressure of time. I undertake to meet them as soon as possible in a setting that will allow them the time to make the points that they wish to make. I am happy to do that at any time.
I have listened carefully to the considered points that my hon. Friends have made, but as I have only 10 minutes to reply, I shall write to them with detailed responses to the points that I am unable to answer now. I want to provide as much access as possible to Members who represent mining communities. These are challenging times, and there are challenging times ahead. We shall not walk away from our mining communities. Given my history, I would not be following my conscience if I walked away from the mining communities that sent me here. Indeed, on a lighter note, I am one of the few women honorary members of the National Union of Mineworkers. I was invited to join by the late Michael McGahey, who was born and brought up in my constituency.
The hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Mr. Gibb) welcomed me to the Front Bench very graciously, and I thank him for that, but I am not going to take any lectures from a Tory on what should happen to the coal industry. The gall of some people who come to the House and posture about it angers me, so I shall draw attention to what happened under the previous Government.
In 1980, slightly more than 230,000 men were employed in the coal mining industry; by 1997, the figure had fallen to 12,600. Every one of us who comes from a mining community knows the cost of that. We know the suffering that was caused because of the politically driven vendetta against those communities. More importantly, the Government have to deal with the legacy of the Conservative Government's incompetence. We are facing up to the responsibility that we have as a Government for the toll taken on miners' health by the coal industry and, by reducing the distortions that were forcing coal out of the electricity market, we are dealing with the legacy that the previous Administration left the coal industry
Hon. Members have referred to the stricter gas consents policy. I shall take up a point made by the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, who wants the moratorium on that policy to be lifted. It has been painful to refuse a lot of those power station applications, because some of my hon. Friends have told me that they want gas-fired power stations to meet particular needs in their constituencies. However, because we recognise that the coal industry must be given a level playing field, we have been prepared to act. We must have security and diversity of supply. We have turned down 4 GW of gas-fired
generation, which is equivalent to 10 million tonnes of coal--roughly half the output of RJB Mining. If that is not helping the coal industry, I do not know what is.
Mr. Cash:
Will the Minister give way?
Mrs. Liddell:
No, I am not taking interventions from the hon. Gentleman. I am surprised that he is on his feet, because I have not said the magic word "Europe". That usually brings him out of his box.
We have introduced a programme of radical and far-reaching reform aimed at ensuring that the coal industry has a secure future, but I shall not delude anyone--there are still difficult days ahead. I was surprised by the tone adopted by the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) following the meeting that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I had about Ellington with the affected constituents. We made it clear that we would examine every possible legal means of assisting the coal industry.
Questions were raised about the investment that miners have made and the profitability that they have achieved--that point was made strongly by my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth Valley (Mr. Campbell). I have to point out that RJB amassed profits adding up to £550 million from 1995 to 1998. In the first six months of this year, it had declared profits of £4 million, which it distributed in dividends. Pressure should not be put on the Government to pick up the costs when the private sector makes such profits. It is important to bear that in mind. I can assure the miners of this country that we will do everything to ensure that our energy markets support the future of the coal industry.
A number of my hon. Friends referred to coal pits that have a strong future, and much has been said about subsidised and unfairly priced coal imports. I appreciate the points that have been made, and the Government have acted on unfair subsidies. A number of hon. Members referred to Polish coal. A lot of people have expressed to us their concerns about dumping. I give a commitment that I shall seek to meet my Polish opposite number as soon as possible to raise that matter.
My hon. Friends asked for specific aid for the coal industry and referred to the European energy markets. Over the past few years, we have fought hard for liberalisation of those markets, and I recognise the difficulties caused by the one-way traffic of electricity from France. I have met my opposite number--indeed, I addressed a seminar in the Assemblee Nationale specifically on that issue--and shall do so again next week, and I have approached the European Commission to make sure that there is true liberalisation of energy markets in France. My hon. Friends raised the issue of the French interconnector, of which we are very much aware. The matter is covered by treaty, but, notwithstanding that, we are anxious for progress to be made.
As we said in the White Paper in response to the industry, we seek to create a climate of fairness, not favours. That is what we have delivered and what we shall continue to deliver, but we have to be realistic. Investment in the UK coal industry is at a historically low level. Indeed, the main proprietor, RJB, is investing in Australia rather than the UK, which is an important signal that mines run out of economic resources. Pits also face geological challenges to which we must respond. We must
have mechanisms to help miners to achieve a secure future whenever economics and geology work against them.
My hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley, West and Penistone asked me about victimised miners. The Government are very concerned about that issue, and I hope to be able to make an announcement soon about the means whereby we shall deal with their problems. I hope to set up a group that will look into those cases following the consultation that is to take place.
Ms Joan Walley (Stoke-on-Trent, North):
My right hon. Friend will be aware of all the work that is being done in north Staffordshire on behalf of the victimised sacked miners, but is she aware that tremendous concern still exists? We want a test centre to assess cases of vibration white finger. Will she look into that issue urgently?
Mrs. Liddell:
My hon. Friend has fought a good campaign, and she makes a sound point. Until now, we have had some difficulty over the availability of technicians who work on that condition. A strong case relating to it has been made for her area and, in the new year, I hope to be able to say something that she will find encouraging.
I am conscious that the industry has contributed a huge amount to our economy, and it has a future. The stricter gas consents policy is creating a more level playing field for the coal industry, but it cannot exist indefinitely. We have said that, once the pool reforms are in place, the moratorium will have to be lifted, but I say to the mining communities, from the bottom of my heart, that we will not turn our back on them. My hon. Friends know of my commitment to the industry. My door is always open, and we shall look seriously at every point that has been raised today with a view to finding a means whereby we can secure the future for the industry.
Dr. Evan Harris (Oxford, West and Abingdon):
I am particularly pleased to be able to introduce this debate, which I understand will be the last one-and-a-half-hour Back-Bench debate to take place in the Chamber before we begin holding debates in Westminster Hall in the new Session. There can be no more important issue for many Back Benchers than the workings of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, and the implications of its workings for rationing in the health service.
I am pleased to see that the Minister of State, Department of Health, the hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham), is to respond. When I was a Liberal Democrat health spokesman, I spent many long hours discussing this and other issues with him, during the Committee and Report stages of the Health Bill, and in a Statutory Instrument Committee considering the orders setting up NICE. I am pleased that we shall be able to continue those discussions today.
Let me declare some interests. I am a fellow-elect of the Industry and Parliament Trust, which was established to give parliamentarians such as myself, who have no private-sector experience, experience of industry. My fellowship is with Glaxo Wellcome, with which--among other pharmaceutical companies--I have discussed the debate. I also went on a three-day study trip to an oncological conference in the United States, along with NHS clinicians and purchasers. The travel, which took place earlier this year, was funded by the pharmaceutical company Rhone-Poulenc Rorer.
11 am
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