Last month we worked with Members of Parliament from various parties on a Westminster Hall debate about coal tip safety and the prohibition of new coal extraction licences.

The debate happened 59 years and one day after the Aberfan tragedy which killed 116 children and 28 adults. Rooted in this context, the debate highlighted the need to prioritise coal tip safety whilst also preventing the extraction of coal from these tips.

Plaid Cymru MP, Ann Davies, led the debate and highlighted that ‘because of increasingly violent storms caused by climate change, we have experienced further coal tip slips’. This is an important point in this debate as the further exacerbation of climate change, via the extraction and use of more coal, would lead to further slips.

She added ‘The UK Government have pledged to ban new coalmining licences, but they have confirmed their belief that re-mining coal from the tips does not require a licence, meaning that such activity falls outside the scope of the proposed ban. Although the Welsh Government believe that their own planning policies will prevent re-mining, a loophole allowing coal extraction in “wholly exceptional circumstances” has raised concern’.

Labour MP, Gerald Jones, discussed mining companies failing to comply with their legal obligations – a danger which could happen again with coal tip extraction. He used the example of the Ffos - Y - Fran opencast mine in his constituency: ‘When it first opened, the company running the mine, Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd, pledged to fully restore the site after it finished operations. I call on it to honour that pledge.’

Liberal Democrat MP, David Chadwick, reflected on the Reform party policy to re-open the pits earlier in the year. A move which, in many cases is not possible, but would be a clear abandonment of our responsibilities to future generations. He said: ‘The people of the south Wales valleys have given more than enough, and we are still waiting for our new south Wales to emerge. We deserve safety, fairness and a future built on renewal, not nostalgia.’

Labour MP, Steve Witherden, made a passionate and precise demand that the Government include coal tips within its coal licence ban: ‘Mining companies offering to remove coal tips in return for commercial access to coal is an easy answer to a difficult question, which we cannot allow, so I ask the Minister this. If the Government truly believe that the Welsh Government’s coal policy and England’s and Scotland’s planning policies are robust enough to prevent coal extraction, why do investors think otherwise? ERI Reclamation is actively seeking to extract 468,000 tonnes of coal from tips in Bedwas, Caerphilly. It clearly believes that the law allows that, and it is putting serious capital behind the belief. If this is approved—it is an “if”—it could set a dangerous precedent, whereby private profits determine which coal tips are removed and others, with less content, are left. It would be a precedent categorising coal tips by their value rather than their potential impact on public safety. Could we see landowners, burdened by maintenance costs, encouraged to sell access to these sites?

We cannot and must not rely on the private sector to make coal tips safe. That duty falls on us. The Government’s coal licensing ban must be strengthened to include coal tip mining.’

Liberal Democrat spokesperson for energy security and net zero, Pippa Heylings MP, eloquently highlighted Coal Action Network’s legal advice which shows how to include coal tips in the coal licence ban: ‘In practice, extracting coal from a tip is no different from open-cast mining. The method is the same, the disruption is the same, the risks are the same and the emissions are the same. The contradiction can be easily resolved. Leading environmental lawyers, working with the Coal Action Network, have proposed an amendment to the Coal Industry Act 1994 to clarify that the mining of coal from coal tips also requires a licence. That small change would ensure that the Government’s coal ban is comprehensive and future-proof.’

Energy Minister, Michael Shanks MP, concluded the debate, summarising that ‘We acknowledge the suggestion to make this type of coal extraction a licensable activity under the MRA, which would allow for a licensing prohibition, but our view is that the current planning policies around the regulations set by devolved Governments already provide robust frameworks.

We are a Government who believe in devolution. We created devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland because we believe in devolving power to those authorities, so they are closer to people and to individual circumstances. It is right that we take their lead on these questions. Their firm view is that they can bring into effect the aim of the Welsh Government and the UK Government to make sure that extraction of coal is a thing of the past. Their view is that their existing powers do that.’

While we at Coal Action Network hope that the Minister’s faith in devolved powers to make coal extraction a thing of the past is well founded; we fear that a different Welsh Government could have an opposing aim and would be able to achieve that under current circumstances. The English National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was also not considered by the Minister, which allowed the West Cumbria coal mine to gain planning permission and would also allow coal tip extraction throughout England’s coal fields.

We would like to thank each of the Members for taking part in the debate and making the case for banning coal tip extraction.

Coal Action Network will continue to campaign for the inclusion of coal tip extraction in the coal licence ban.