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Madam Speaker: Order. I have 30 Members seeking to question the statement. Questions to the Secretary of State must be very brisk, and I rely on the Secretary of State to give me brisk answers, please.
Mr. Gary Streeter (South-West Devon): The Secretary of State will be aware of a specific application to build a new gas-fired power station in Langage, in my constituency, right next to 45,000 houses on the edge of Dartmoor, overlooking the rolling beauty of the South Hams. The application is opposed by everyone in my constituency, including me. Will he undertake to look at that application, which is on his desk, before the moratorium is lifted, consider it carefully on its merits, and then reject it point blank?
Mr. Byers: I am sure that we shall take those representations into account in considering the matter.
Mr. Harry Barnes (North-East Derbyshire): My hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) pointed out that the Conservatives destroyed the mining industry in Derbyshire by closing all the Coal Board pits. However, one small mine--Moorside mine--is left in Eckington, in my constituency. What will be the position of the small mines when state aid is provided? The money is not just for Budge. The 29 jobs at stake in Eckington also need to be protected. What will be done, and when will it be delivered?
Mr. Byers: I invite the owners of the mine at Eckington to get in touch with my Department. The scheme that we want to introduce applies to all coal producers. Even small mines such as that referred to by my hon. Friend will come within the state aid schemes. If the owners contact the Department, we can discuss what methods will need to be put in place to support improving productivity.
Mr. Peter Atkinson (Hexham): The coal industry will be disappointed that more details of the subsidy scheme have not been given. How will it help Blenkinsopp colliery in my constituency? It employs nearly 100 miners and is threatened with closure in 18 months unless the management can raise £200,000 to £300,000 to open new seams. They have been unable to do that because of the low price of coal. Will the scheme help such collieries?
Mr. Byers: It is worth reminding the House that the price of coal has recovered over the past few weeks. Our scheme will go from pit to pit. Blenkinsopp will be able to discuss it with the Department. If it meets the criteria, it will be able to qualify as well as other pits.
Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley): My right hon. Friend's announcement is excellent news for Wales and for my constituency, particularly for Tower colliery, which remained open despite the best efforts of the Conservatives--with the exception of the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood), who gave us
every assistance when the miners bought out the pit. The pit has made a profit year on year, despite the fact that the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry told us that the mine should shut and I should tell the men to throw in the towel. We did not throw in the towel and the pit has been a success. That shows that there is a secure future for coal and that the Government care about the social consequences of restructuring our older industries, again unlike the Conservatives. What can Tower hope to get from the announcement? Under the previous Government, I took the case to the European Union and the Energy Commissioner told me that the EU thought that the pit should get a subsidy, but the British Government were against it.
Madam Speaker: Order. Questions must be very much to the point now.
Mr. Byers: The scheme that we have been able to announce today covers Wales and Scotland as well as England. Pits such as Tower will be able to qualify under the criteria that we intend to develop. Given the efforts made by my hon. Friend and some Conservative Members to save Tower, I hope that the colliery will see greater opportunities in the scheme and that the commitment of the work force and the community to Tower colliery will reap long-term rewards.
Mr. Dafydd Wigley (Caernarfon): I welcome the lifting of the moratorium and the contents of the statement not only for Tower, but for north-west Wales. The Secretary of State will be aware of representations made by my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Mon (Mr. Jones) about a scheme that is vital for the future planning of industries such as Anglesey Aluminium. What criteria will be used to decide on the exemption of combined heat and power projects from the climate change levy?
Mr. Byers: I welcome the right hon. Gentleman's comments, particularly about the benefits that may well come to north-west Wales from the lifting of the stricter gas consents policy. We had to defer a decision on an application in relation to Anglesey because of the policy that was in place. That was not a rejection. The application still lies on the table in the Department. If the promoters wish to come forward, we shall be able to consider it again. I am conscious of the important role that the Anglesey Aluminium plant can play. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has already said all that he wants to say about the climate change levy as it affects combined heat and power.
Mr. Kevin Barron (Rother Valley): I welcome my right hon. Friend's statement. After all the years of seeing neighbouring coal mines being closed, the coal miners at Maltby colliery in my constituency will be heartened to hear that the Government are standing up for the coal industry. The British coal industry cannot compete against heavily subsidised coal not only from within the European Union but from countries such as Poland. Will coal's share of the electricity supply in the balanced energy policy be met by coal mined in the British coalfield?
Mr. Byers: I understand my hon. Friend's concerns. We have to ensure that our anti-dumping rules are vigorously enforced. We have raised with the Polish
Government the subject of the amount of coal coming in from Poland, and we hope that action will be taken in the near future.
Mr. A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed): Does the Secretary of State believe that Ellington colliery is likely to be saved under the terms of the statement, especially given its tremendous importance to the local economy of Northumberland? If so, does he realise that people will be grateful, and that he has moved from believing that it would be impossible to give such aid under European rules to recognising that we can actively pursue such state aid?
Mr. Byers: The situation has moved on since November 1999, and we have considered carefully the opportunities that are available to us, but any scheme will still need to be approved by the European Commission. We must work with the EC to ensure that any scheme that we propose satisfies the Commission. I am very much aware of the important role that Ellington plays in the local community. My constituency is a little more than 25 miles away, and I am acutely aware that Ellington is the sole deep mine remaining in the north-east of England. Decisions about individual pits will be taken by the owners--in this case, RJB Mining--but, in the light of today's announcement, the company may have something to say about its proposals for both Ellington and Clipstone.
Mrs. Linda Gilroy (Plymouth, Sutton): I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend's statement, particularly in respect of the lifting of the stricter gas consents policy. He may know that, in Plymouth, the city council, the chamber of commerce and the regional development agency will be keen for this to pave the way for the go-ahead for the Langage energy park, which is opposed by the hon. Member for South-West Devon (Mr. Streeter). In addition to considering the important environmental aspects, will he take into account the £600 million investment for jobs and the effect of bringing in the only generator west of Hinkley Point, which, through black start-up, will protect industry, attracting jobs and business to the south-west?
Mr. Byers: My hon. Friend is clearly already making strong representations on behalf of the development. We will need to take those into account when we consider the application.
Mr. John Redwood (Wokingham): Given that every time the Secretary of State signs a consent for a new gas station, he will effectively be signing the redundancy notices of a large number of coal miners, what is his forecast of how much gas capacity he will license over the next year and how many coal miners' jobs will go as a result? Is not the statement a smokescreen to try to delay the P45s for the miners until after the general election, and does it not in practice mean the death of a large number of mines? Will he come clean and tell us?
Mr. Byers: That is a bit rich from someone who was a member of the Cabinet in 1993, when 33 pits were closed. I have announced a balanced approach. We will lift the stricter gas consents policy, so we will provide state aid to the coal industry to overcome the challenges that it will face over the next two years or so. I do not
agree with the right hon. Gentleman, who seems to think that, because a policy decision is taken, redundancies must follow. That was the case under the Government of which he was a member. Tories made decisions and jobs were lost. That will not happen as a result of our policy, which will ensure that there is a viable future for the coal industry within a competitive energy market.
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