1. How does the Government ensure that opencast coal mine-restoration plans safeguard communities in South Wales West? OQ60908

Thank you, Sioned, for the question.

Coal tip safety falls under the portfolio of the Cabinet Secretary—my colleague—for Housing, Local Government and Planning. Nonetheless, the Welsh Government's coal tip safety programme, including its inspection and maintenance regime and a new disused coal tips Bill, places community safety at the very heart of its objectives.

Diolch. You've no doubt heard the concerns in the press and heard my colleague Delyth Jewell also raise concerns about water collecting in the void left by the Ffos-y-Fran opencast site. So, this isn't really about coal tip safety. The Welsh Government responded, saying it was closely monitoring the situation and its priority is the safety of the local community. So, I would like to emphasise that this must not be considered as an isolated case, because Ffos-y-Fran is one example of a systemic failure of the restoration of opencast mines. Similar problems exist in East Pit in Tairgwaith and Margam in Neath Port Talbot. Water filled voids are a great and long-standing concern to local communities there. These mining voids were never planned geologically, structurally, or hydrologically surveyed to hold millions of tonnes of water. In East Pit, recent earthquakes increased residents' concerns regarding the risks of leaving 40 million cu m of water on an active earthquake fault at around 150m above the valley floor with no constructed dam to retain water. Residents want to see surveys and reports from qualified indemnified engineers and measures taken to address the risks. So, how will the Welsh Government intervene to ensure action is taken to safeguard communities who've been left to deal with the serious environmental aftermath of opencast mining, and how, specifically, do you envisage upcoming Welsh legislation will aid the safety and environmental well-being of communities that contain post-industrial sites?

Thank you, Sioned, and we are very aware of the concerns of residents that have been expressed and we've seen a lot of that in the public domain as well, and in fact, we've had correspondence as well, and we've seen Delyth raise it and I've seen the Member for Merthyr, my colleague Dawn Bowden, has actually written to my predecessor in this role or to the current Cabinet Member on this regard as well. And it's not a new issue; it's not an isolated issue. In fact, looking across the Chamber here at colleagues who represent my region, we have ones within our area that are a legacy that go back to the John Major time within Government. But each one is different; each one is very separate.

In respect of Ffos-y-Fran, we are indeed—. Welsh Government is very closely monitoring the situation and keeping very closely in contact not only with the local authority, but also with agencies on the ground there, because our priority remains—in Ffos-y-Fran as elsewhere—always the safety of the local community. So, we're in regular contact with the local authority, a range of public sector partners. We've been very clear—very clear—that the safeguarding and the restoration of that site remains our objective, alongside our wish to see the full restoration of the site in line with the planning permission.

Now, just for an update for you as well, the leader of the council has provided assurances to Ministers that the water level in the void is not an immediate concern, but, as I say, we have seen this in other instances in different parts of Wales as well, and we can confirm that Welsh Government is providing support to the council to ensure that they're able to access independent assessments on potential flooding concerns and on environmental impacts as well. But we will keep in touch, and I'm more than happy to discuss this further with the Member or any other Members that want to see how this is progressing on the ground and how we are monitoring it, alongside the local authority and other agencies as well. So, thank you.

I thank Sioned for raising this important question. While much of the recent focus has been on the fate of the communities around Ffos-y-Fran, communities in our region have been blighted by remnants of coal mining, both deep coal mining and opencast. Despite assurance, Parc Slip at Margam and East Pit in Neath Port Talbot remain unrestored. The concerns voiced by communities in Merthyr Tydfil have been voiced by communities in Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot for years without resolution. Cabinet Secretary, how will your Government ensure our constituents are not forced to live with the blight of mining activities and  that sites like Parc Slip and East Pit are restored to nature at the earliest possible opportunity?

I thank you for that supplementary question, because, in fact, the instance that I referred to in my first response was indeed Parc Slip, which is on our doorstep. Two local authorities involved with it; two local authorities who've had to, alongside, I have to say, interest from wildlife organisations as well, if the liabilities and so on could be sorted out—. But it's been going on for years, and it falls to, then, local authorities to step in, because originally, in that instance, and we've seen it elsewhere, the remediation plans, the funding in place and so on—each one is different, but they weren't put in place. That indeed is the one that stems back to the time, curiously, of the John Major Government. So, we're still having to wrestle with these.

But what we are doing in terms of the legislation, bringing the legislation forward, which will help indeed, is we are planning a disused tip safety Bill as a priority for this Government. We are committed to this and a long-term, proactive regime to ensure the ongoing safety of this part of Wales's industrial legacy as well. We intend to introduce that Bill into the Senedd this autumn, and I know that Members who are raising points here and others will want to see how that Bill can contribute as well to dealing with what is a legacy in different parts of Wales, right across Wales, that we are all now living with that should, to be honest, have been sorted out originally when these plans were put into place, but we're now having to pick up the pieces. But we will work with agencies on the ground, we will work with local authorities, and try, I have to say, as well, to make sure that we don't unfairly burden the taxpayer as well on this. There is a responsibility for these original developers, if they still exist, to actually step up to the mark as well.