Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of the ban on burning coal in domestic settings on the (a) availability and (b) price of sized and washed lump coal for use in steam locomotives.

The measures included in the Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020 will not apply directly to steam locomotives. Although the domestic coal market represents less than 5% of national coal demand, we acknowledge that our plans may impact on the supply of fuels to some organisations. We have listened to the concerns raised by heritage bodies during our consultation on these measures, and we have engaged with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Heritage Rail’s enquiry. This did not quantify the direct costs to this sector from a ban on the sale of domestic coal but did recommend that a longer transition period be included in Government plans. We have taken this into account in our proposals, with a longer transition period being given to the phasing out of direct deliveries of loose coal via approved coal merchants, allowing organisations time to adjust to the change in legislation.