King’s Speech Summary: Support for coal tip mining ban

Earlier this month, the King’s Speech marked a major milestone for our campaign for the introduction of legislation which will ban new coal mines. The Government formally announced the Energy Independence Bill, and with it a commitment to ‘Implement the manifesto commitment to end new coal licenses’. This is a breakthrough that Coal Action Network has specifically been working towards for over two years and is a significant step forward, but our work is far from finished.

The Bill, as currently framed, does not categorically include a ban on coal extraction from coal tips, despite significant support for its inclusion. Our legal advice shows clearly why clarification is needed with amendments to the Coal Industry Act and how to amend the Act with the upcoming legislation. Strengthening the Bill to include a full prohibition remains our top priority as it moves through Parliament.

Following the King’s Speech, both Houses began several days of debates on the Government’s programme. Across the Commons and the Lords, MPs and Peers have not only welcomed the commitment to end new coal licences but have also highlighted the need for the legislation to go further by specifically addressing coal tip extraction. Their interventions show a growing cross‑party understanding that a credible coal phase‑out must cover all forms of extraction.

We are grateful to the following Parliamentarians for highlighting coal tips in their speeches:

"I welcome the commitment to ending new coal licences in the coal licences Bill. While Wales’s coalfield communities can rightly be proud of their heritage, it is vital that we now protect them from the environmental and social harms of further extraction. That is essential for those living near the Bersham colliery spoil tip in Rhostyllen, in my constituency. Given that private companies are now seeking to mine coal tips, which would inflict the same issues on communities, this type of extraction should also be prohibited."

"The King’s Speech includes the new coal licensing ban, which is welcome. However, as I have raised before in Parliament, the proposed ban in its current form does not guarantee the prevention of commercial extraction of coal from coal tips in Wales. The Government should bring measures forward to close this loophole so that companies can never profit from the more than 2,500 tips, containing millions of tonnes of coal between them."

"Long-lasting bitterness arose when profits from coal were rarely used to Wales’s benefit, yet we were left to clear up the mess and live with dangerous tips. Please will the energy independence Bill ensure that the full costs of removing or securing remaining coal tips are not lumbered on to the Welsh Government, nor left to private companies to work residual coal in a largely unregulated way?"