Coal industry meeting sees continued support to safeguard local opencast jobs

June 18:

Some of the top figures from the coal industry met on Monday to discuss the Hargreaves tax exemption proposal that could save local jobs.

LOCAL opencast jobs dominated at a meeting of the coal industry’s top brass.

The Scottish Coal Industry Taskforce met in Glasgow on Monday to discuss the Hargreaves proposal for carbon price support (CPS) - a tax break they claim will safe guard local jobs.

Hargreaves have tabled a proposal to the UK government to extend the CPS Exemption from coal slurry to include coals derived from schemes which are supporting opencast coal restoration projects and which deal specifically with legacy restoration sites.

The Scottish Coal Taskforce meeting was chaired by the Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism, MSP Fergus Ewing.

Of Monday’s meeting a Scottish Government spokesman said: “Yesterday’s cross-party Coal Industry Task Force meeting in Glasgow was chaired by Energy Minister Fergus Ewing and taskforce members and key stakeholders discussed the finalisation of a report to improve and strengthen the regulation of Scotland’s coal sector.

“The group continued to support calls to the UK government to consider the CPS exemption scheme as a means of addressing the environmental liabilities associated with unrestored sites in Scotland.”

Hargreaves say that the CPS exemption must be included in Chancellor George Osborne’s July budget announcement.

Previously local Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale and newly appointed Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell revealed in the Chronicle that he has taken up the issue of the tax exemption proposal with the Westminster government, saying: “I am in contact with Ministerial colleagues on this issue. The UK government recognises this is a very important issue for the communities affected and are still actively considering the Hargreaves proposal.”

Source: http://www.cumnockchronicle.com/news/roundup/articles/2015/06/18/536715-coal-industry-meeting-sees-continued-support-to-safeguard-local-opencast-jobs/?