Coalfields Regeneration Trust (Wentworth and Dearne)

Lord Stunell Excerpts

Monday 19th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Andrew Stunell)]

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey) on securing this debate. I also congratulate the hon. Members for Blaydon (Mr Anderson) and for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) on their contributions. The right hon. Gentleman made some important points, and I shall do my best to reply to them. I certainly take his point that I am something of a utility player in the team, and I do not think the fact that my constituency used to have a coal mine 70 years ago really qualifies me to speak as an expert on these matters.

The right hon. Gentleman set out the history of mining, as well as describing its woeful end in his constituency and the legacy that that left behind. I fully acknowledge many of his points. Regenerating the English coalfields has been a huge challenge over the past 30 years. There is no doubt that the speed and extent of the pit closures resulted in significant economic and social damage, as well as creating some real environmental challenges.

The right hon. Gentleman described the steps that the previous Government took to set up the national coalfields programme, which last year had a £50 million capital programme funded by my Department and the Homes and Communities Agency. He also mentioned the creation of the enterprise fund, which last year was managing a £30 million revolving loan fund, two thirds of which came from the Department, while one third came from the private sector.

The subject that the right hon. Gentleman dwelt on most was the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which last year had an £11 million revenue budget and a £6.65 million capital fund, both from my Department. It is based in his constituency and is perhaps one of those symbolic landmark organisations, as far as he and his constituents are concerned. It is right to recognise some of the real achievements that those programmes have delivered over the years. He outlined a number of them, and I am happy to endorse what he said. I have been provided with a list, which also includes the family employment initiative, the debt response programme and the sports legacy. There is a long list of projects that have been delivered and of which he is rightly proud on behalf of his Administration.

The right hon. Gentleman failed to detail some of the shortcomings that were highlighted in the National Audit Office report that was published in December 2009, and again in the Public Accounts Committee report of March 2010. It is only right that I should quote from some of the PAC’s conclusions. Conclusion 1 states:

“Thirteen years after the start of the schemes, the Department—

the Department for Communities and Local Government—

“still lacks clarity as to how its initiatives can best revitalise the local communities in which it is investing.”

Conclusion 2 was:

“The Department has failed to lead coalfield regeneration across Government.”

Conclusion 3 was:

“The Department has not sufficiently coordinated its three strands of coalfield regeneration and funding for improving local coordination is at risk.

Conclusion 4 was:

“The Department has failed to develop a robust assessment of the direct impact of its initiatives, including proof that the money spent has created jobs that would not have been created anyway. To demonstrate that its plans merit continued funding, the Department should establish the success of its initiatives using direct measures such as the occupancy rates on sites and the number of jobs filled by members of coalfield communities as a direct result of the initiatives.”

I could go on, but that would not be a sensible use of my time, so let me finish by citing conclusion 7, which states:

“The Department did not act quickly enough to support enterprise in coalfield areas. By the time the £50 million Coalfield Enterprise Fund to support businesses was proposed in 1998, the employment, skills and confidence in many coalfield areas had been lost. An urgent response was needed but the Department took until 2004 to develop and launch a £10 million fund. And the Department took until 2009 to identify a mixture of public and private funding to reach the £50 million mark.”

What that says is that, good as the programme has been in parts, there is a serious need for more to be done to make it fully effective. The criticism was sharp. We have inherited a series of failings, but we are determined to find ways to put things right. I want to reassure the right hon. Gentleman on this point: we have no plans to dismantle the programme.

We published our response to the PAC report on 15 July and did our best to address the points raised in the Committee’s earlier report. We focused on reassessing the immediate and long-term needs of coalfield areas and on ways of achieving the best value for money. We are focusing on the co-ordination of coalfields regeneration across and within Government, which the PAC charged our predecessors with having failed to do. We are working hard to make sure that the need to demonstrate the benefits of specific funding for coalfield areas is shown and followed.

As the right hon. Gentleman said. our former colleague, Michael Clapham, is chairing the review of coalfields regeneration. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing has already met him, and I echo the right hon. Gentleman’s praise for Mr Clapham’s tireless support for miners, the mining industry and the victims of industrial diseases in general. I am sure that he will be an admirable and effective chair of the review.

The review will help the Government to take decisions on the direction of future interventions in former mining constituencies, both for the remainder of the current spending period and also into the next comprehensive spending review period. The consultation period closed on 30 June, and I understand work has begun on drafting the report. The Minister for Housing and I look forward to receiving Michael Clapham’s report at the end of August. To confirm what the right hon. Gentleman asked me about, publication of that report will be well timed for fitting in with the Government’s current spending review, which the House will know is planned to be announced on 20 October. I confirm that publication of the report is certainly in our minds.

The review is intended to look at the way in which the current programmes are delivered. We expect there to be a major role for local authorities, but we are clear about the fact that there must also be a joined-up approach, with all partners—including the local communities themselves—working together. The right hon. Gentleman mentioned the Prime Minister’s statement today. We are certainly committed to a bottom-up community-focused approach.

The Government remain supportive of action to meet the continuing need for land-based remediation, remain strongly supportive of community-led regeneration projects and are committed to helping communities to come together to tackle local problems and support local enterprises, especially in vulnerable areas such as the former coalfields. Those three strands were in the initial programme, and we intend to make progress with all of them. We must ensure that all possible ways of securing maximum efficiencies are considered, particularly in the current climate. As the right hon. Gentleman knows—and as the whole House knows—the spending review will be extremely difficult, and hard choices will need to be made. Whatever the outcome, we can at least ensure that we get value for money from the resources going into the coalfields communities.

The right hon. Gentleman is an old hand who has stood at this Dispatch Box fending people off, and he will appreciate that I cannot make any promises ahead of the comprehensive spending review; but I will say that I have heard his messages, and I hope he has heard mine. The spending review will be difficult, but we recognise the important work of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in helping to improve coalfield communities, and we are absolutely determined to ensure that every penny spent gives full value for money not just to the taxpayer, but to the communities that it is designed to help.

Question put and agreed to.