Reform UK slammed for missing coal tip safety debate

Plaid Cymru has accused Reform UK of “turning their backs” on Welsh communities by failing to attend a crucial Westminster debate on coal tip safety — held the day after the anniversary of the Aberfan disaster.

The debate, led by Plaid Cymru’s Caerfyrddin MP Ann Davies, focused on the growing risks posed by disused coal tips and the need for Westminster to fully fund remediation work in Wales.

Despite Wales accounting for just 8.5% of the UK’s landmass, more than half of Britain’s 2,590 coal tips are located here — many of them classified as hazardous.

Unacceptable

Ms Davies said it was “unacceptable” that communities in the south Wales valleys still lived under the threat of collapsing spoil tips almost six decades after the 1966 Aberfan disaster, which killed 144 people, including 116 children.

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP, criticised Reform UK for skipping the debate despite targeting the upcoming Caerphilly by-election, an area which has to 207 coal tips, 56 of which are deemed high risk.

“It is strikingly noticeable that Reform are conspicuous by their absence,” she said. “They were content to attend Prime Minister’s Questions from the gallery, yet when it comes to discussing coal and the future of communities blighted by its legacy, they are nowhere to be seen.”

Ann Davies also condemned Reform’s recent call to reopen coal mines in Wales.

Vision

“Reform and Nigel Farage’s vision is to send our people back underground, slaving away in the dark, developing pneumoconiosis from inhaling toxic dust — exploiting the people of Wales once again, just as they were in the past.”

The Welsh Government has estimated that £600 million is needed to make coal tips safe, but only around a third of that has been committed by both governments combined.

During Wednesday’s debate, Labour MP Dame Nia Griffith defended the UK Government’s £140 million contribution, saying it was the amount requested by Welsh ministers and that further funding could follow as more plans were developed.

Davies, however, said Westminster should bear full responsibility for the costs, since the tips predate devolution.

“It is a grave injustice to the people of the valleys that this full cost isn’t covered by Westminster. Without full funding, we risk opening the door to new mining companies exploiting these tips under the guise of remediation.”

Ynys Môn MP Llinos Medi pressed UK ministers on whether they would fund the full £600 million if the Welsh Government made a formal request.

Coal Authority Minister Michael Shanks MP replied that while the £600 million figure was “provisional,” £118 million had been identified as a “realistic” amount to protect communities now.

Ceredigion MP Ben Lake used the debate to call for similar action on lead mine pollution, which he said posed another major environmental threat to rural Wales.