Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Communities endangered by inter-government squabbling
The Guardian highlights the danger posed to local communities by around 350 disused coal tips in the Welsh valleys, some of whom are showing signs of movement, amid fears that we might be facing another Aberfan.
The paper says that the issue of what to do about Wales’s 2,500 disused coal tips is back on the political agenda after the Labour-led Welsh government published maps pinpointing 350 situated close to homes and communities that it fears could put people at risk in the event of a landslip.
They add that of those more hazardous ones, 79 are in Rhondda Cynon Taf, 59 in Merthyr Tydfil, and 51 in Caerphilly, all areas of south Wales where the impact of the industry that fired the Industrial Revolution are still clearly seen and felt:
It was a mammoth task to identify, record and categorise all the tips on a central database for the first time but an even tougher job seems to be persuading the UK government to help pay for the inspections and, ultimately, make them safe. Westminster insists coal-tip safety is a devolved matter and so it is up to the Welsh administration to fund any work that is needed.
Welsh Labour and Plaid politicians can hardly contain their anger. Julie James, the Welsh climate change minister, told the Guardian: “It’s ridiculous to say the devolved government that has been here for 20 years is responsible for the legacy of hundreds of years of mining that enriched the whole of the UK. It seems extraordinary that the legacy of UK mining should fall on the not-very-broad shoulders of the communities that hosted those mines.”
The Guardian says that the cost of remediation is estimated at around £50m a year for 10 to 15 years, but the UK government remains unmoved. A spokesperson said: “The management of coal tips in Wales is one of the Welsh government’s devolved responsibilities and one it is more than adequately funded to meet after receiving the largest annual settlement in the history of devolution at spending review 2021.”
Julie James, the Welsh climate change minister, however disagrees: “It’s ridiculous to say the devolved government that has been here for 20 years is responsible for the legacy of hundreds of years of mining that enriched the whole of the UK. It seems extraordinary that the legacy of UK mining should fall on the not-very-broad shoulders of the communities that hosted those mines.”
Note that she does not deny that responsibility for these tips is devolved, just that morally the Welsh Government could do with some financial help dealing with them and she is prepared to pass the buck accordingly. The health and education services were also formed before the 1997 devolution referendum but that doesn't stop the Welsh government funding them.
The paper says that the issue of what to do about Wales’s 2,500 disused coal tips is back on the political agenda after the Labour-led Welsh government published maps pinpointing 350 situated close to homes and communities that it fears could put people at risk in the event of a landslip.
They add that of those more hazardous ones, 79 are in Rhondda Cynon Taf, 59 in Merthyr Tydfil, and 51 in Caerphilly, all areas of south Wales where the impact of the industry that fired the Industrial Revolution are still clearly seen and felt:
It was a mammoth task to identify, record and categorise all the tips on a central database for the first time but an even tougher job seems to be persuading the UK government to help pay for the inspections and, ultimately, make them safe. Westminster insists coal-tip safety is a devolved matter and so it is up to the Welsh administration to fund any work that is needed.
Welsh Labour and Plaid politicians can hardly contain their anger. Julie James, the Welsh climate change minister, told the Guardian: “It’s ridiculous to say the devolved government that has been here for 20 years is responsible for the legacy of hundreds of years of mining that enriched the whole of the UK. It seems extraordinary that the legacy of UK mining should fall on the not-very-broad shoulders of the communities that hosted those mines.”
The Guardian says that the cost of remediation is estimated at around £50m a year for 10 to 15 years, but the UK government remains unmoved. A spokesperson said: “The management of coal tips in Wales is one of the Welsh government’s devolved responsibilities and one it is more than adequately funded to meet after receiving the largest annual settlement in the history of devolution at spending review 2021.”
Julie James, the Welsh climate change minister, however disagrees: “It’s ridiculous to say the devolved government that has been here for 20 years is responsible for the legacy of hundreds of years of mining that enriched the whole of the UK. It seems extraordinary that the legacy of UK mining should fall on the not-very-broad shoulders of the communities that hosted those mines.”
Note that she does not deny that responsibility for these tips is devolved, just that morally the Welsh Government could do with some financial help dealing with them and she is prepared to pass the buck accordingly. The health and education services were also formed before the 1997 devolution referendum but that doesn't stop the Welsh government funding them.
Meanwhile. the danger persists, very like Aberfan, where politicians ignored their responsibilities until it was too late.
Welsh Ministers are not shy in demanding additional devolved powers, but where they have them, as here, then they should use them. This having your cake and eating it approach to devolution is not a good look and does nothing to help communities threatened by these tips.
Welsh Ministers are not shy in demanding additional devolved powers, but where they have them, as here, then they should use them. This having your cake and eating it approach to devolution is not a good look and does nothing to help communities threatened by these tips.
