Daw Mill Colliery Closure
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Mr John Hayes)
On Thursday last week, 7 March 2013, UK Coal Operations Ltd announced the closure of one of their deep mines at Daw Mill in Warwickshire following a serious fire which broke out on 22 February 2013 and continues to burn.
They have assured us that the nature of the fire itself and the depth of the mine (740 m depth and a distance of 8 km from the bottom of the main shaft) means there is no danger to the general public in Warwickshire and that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Coal Authority are continuing to work with the company on ways to quench the fire safely.
UK Coal directly employed some 570 people at Daw Mill and the company are fully focused on making sure they do all they can to help and support the work force. This includes the redeployment of members of the Daw Mill work force to other UK Coal operations, which I understand is already taking place.
Officials from my Department have been co-ordinating a cross-Government response with nine Departments and agencies involved, including BIS, Shareholder Executive, DCLG, HSE, Coal Authority, Insolvency Service and Jobcentre Plus since the fire broke out last month. They continue to ensure there is a fully joined-up approach at both national and regional level.
In relation to supporting the work force at a local level, BIS West Midlands and Jobcentre Plus have met with local authorities and other local partners to bring together a response to manage the impact of the closure, not only on the employees at Daw Mill, but also on local businesses and the local community. This will build on a rapid response package led by Jobcentre Plus. It will include other nationally available support, such as Talent Retention Solution, and relevant support providers at local level.
We continue to work closely with the company and I will be meeting them again later this week when I will make it clear to them that I regard their treatment of the workers affected to be a high priority. I also expect to meet with union representatives this week.