Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Witherden Excerpts

Tuesday 10th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

Not yet, but the hon. Lady makes a really important point, which is that energy security from home-grown clean energy is important here, but that we should also work with our European allies.

[Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr) (Lab)]

T4. My constituency is home to Bersham colliery, the final coalmine to close in the whole of north Wales. Coal tip safety is paramount to Welsh communities, but there is a concern about companies extracting coal from our 2,590 tips for commercial gain. With the Senedd elections less than three months away, if the Welsh Government were to request that coal tip extraction be included in the Government’s coal licence ban legislation, would the Minister consider amending the Coal Industry Act 1994 to extend the Mining Remediation Authority’s remit to cover those powers and associated responsibilities in the future—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Mr Witherden, think about other people, not just yourself, please. We have to get more questions in.