Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the environmental effect of proposals to open a new deep coalmine in Cumbia.

A public inquiry, overseen by an independent Planning Inspector, is scheduled to begin in September. The inquiry will hear the evidence for and against the proposal, and once completed, the Inspector will prepare a report and recommendation for Ministers, based on that evidence. As this application will come before Ministers for decision it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.