Coal Authority Triennial Review

Matt Hancock Excerpts

Wednesday 17th December 2014 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Matthew Hancock)]

On 8 October 2013 as Minister for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon) announced the commencement of the triennial review of the Coal Authority. I am now pleased to announce the completion of the review.

The Coal Authority was established under the 1994 Coal Industry Act with the broad responsibilities to protect the public and environment in coal mining areas and manage the effects of past coal mining. The authority owns the majority of coal in Great Britain, including past coal mines.

The triennial review of the Coal Authority concludes that the functions performed by the authority are still required and that it should be retained as a non-departmental public body. The review also looked at the governance arrangements for the authority in line with guidance on good corporate governance set out by the Cabinet Office. The report finds that good corporate governance arrangements are already in place, and makes a number of recommendations in this respect which we expect will be implemented shortly.

The full report of the review of the Coal Authority can be found on the Coal Authority website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/the-coal-authority and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.