Coal Debate

Speech by Brian Cotter MP delivered to House of Commons on Wed 28th Jan 2004

Westminster Hall debate on the future of Hatfield Colliery

Brian Cotter (Weston-super-Mare) (LD): I speak on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, but I appreciate that many speakers, especially the hon. Member for Doncaster, North (Mr. Hughes), have made a case for the coal industry with far more knowledge than I could pretend to possess. I do not believe that I am alone in being moved last night by the television programme about Hatfield. When I first became involved in policies for the Liberal Democrats 20 years ago, I joined one of the miners' marches that went through London. Although I know that that was a token gesture, it represented how I felt about the terrible position that confronted us under the premiership of Margaret Thatcher.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Doncaster, North on presenting his case so well and on expressing great concern for Hatfield colliery. I appreciate that he is anxious today to ensure that the Minister provides clarity, especially about the proposed £15 million in funding. I shall therefore not take issue with the request for that money, although the Liberal Democrats are worried about the amount of funding that the Department of Trade and Industry has put into various projects over the years. We remain concerned about that, but I shall deal with the details of the specific request that we are considering shortly.

A massive amount of money, which has already been mentioned, has been put into nuclear power. At the end of last year, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced that she would increase the credit facility to British Energy by £75 million. Even worse, many people say that the cost of nuclear energy could rise to £50 billion in the next few years because of the need for decommissioning, waste management and the costs of production. Vast sums of money are being put into energy production that is costly and of major environmental concern to many of us. No one here, except perhaps the Minister, would agree that such a use of Department of Trade and Industry funding represents the way that we should go.

At the beginning of the month, the European Commission drew attention to the fact that Britain had crept to the top of the European scoreboard for subsidies, thanks to two big handouts—one to British Energy and the other to Railtrack. That position is not sustainable. All state subsidies to industry should be considered according to the taxpayer's long-term interests and the value that the industries add to society, rather than on the basis of individual commercial or labour interests, so the Minister needs to be asked some questions about that situation.

First, will the coal mine be viable in the long term? Concern has been expressed about the fact that the administrators are finding it hard to attract private investors because of the cost involved in developing a new seam. If such projects are viable in the long run but just need a helping hand to attract investment, should we not consider at least the possibility of loans based on the project's viability, both in this case and in other cases?

Secondly, if the Government agree to fund the maintenance of the mine until a suitable buyer can be found, how much will that cost? If we are to put money into a project, we should have a view about its viability, effectiveness and long-term cost. There is no point putting money in if we will see no result at the end of the day. Of course there is great concern about the future of the £350 million clean coal power station that the pit's former owners were planning to construct next to the mine. Has the Minister any answer to those questions?

The hon. Members who have already spoken, particularly the hon. Member for Doncaster, North, have made some important points about Hatfield colliery holding the key to 50 per cent. of the coal industry's reserves in this country, and about security of supply. The hon. Gentleman has said that we need a clear strategic approach to energy—something that I called for more than a year ago in a previous debate on coal. Above all, we must decide to allow the development of a number of environmentally acceptable forms of energy production, and I very much hope that clean coal can be part of that.