6. What legal advice has the Counsel General given the Welsh Government on its powers in relation to the expansion of Aberpergwm coal mine? OQ57782

Thank you for the question. Section 26A of the Coal Industry Act 1994 requires the Welsh Ministers to approve mining authorisations issued by the Coal Authority before coming into effect. Aberpergwm colliery lawfully acquired its authorisation before the powers were introduced in 2018. Welsh Ministers were not able to intervene in the licensing process.

Thank you for your response.

We all want to keep coal in the ground. The Global Energy Monitor research group estimates that this mine, one of Europe's largest sources of the carbon-heavy anthracite coal variety used to make steel, could emit an eye-watering 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in that time. I do understand that the Welsh Government's assessment is that, as the licence was granted under condition in 2016, this predated the powers granted to Welsh Ministers in the Wales Act 2017. Planning permission for the extension was not consolidated by Neath Port Talbot Council until September 2018, five months after the provisions in the Wales Act came into place. The Coal Authority, on 10 January this year, informed the Welsh Government that Welsh Ministers will not be making a determination in this case. And this is the critical bit: the Coal Authority said that, under the Wales Act 2017, if Welsh Ministers had directed them not to license the mine's expansion, they could not have issued a full licence to the operator. Therefore, could I ask you what advice you will now be giving Ministers about objecting to the application to expand Aberpergwm coal mine? Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Well, thank you for the supplementary question. The section 26A provision, introduced via the Wales Act 2017, does not give the Welsh Ministers full coal-licensing powers. The Coal Authority continues to be the licensing authority for the UK. Section 26A is a power to approve mining activities authorised under a licence granted by the Coal Authority. So, we do not have the powers to make a decision in this case, as the licence predates the section 26A power. And the mine operator sought only to give effect to an authorisation already granted by the Coal Authority in 2013. So, the decision to issue a notice discharging existing licence conditions was a matter for the Coal Authority to consider against the duties imposed on it by the Coal Industry Act 1994.

The fundamental issue is having a Coal Authority whose duty is to maintain a coal-mining industry in the UK. So, we've been calling on the UK Government to change this duty in the coal industry Act to reflect the climate emergency. So, though we were not able to intervene in this case, our policy is clear: we want to bring a managed end to the extraction and use of coal for thermal burning. We are committed to working with the fossil fuel extraction industry on the transition to business models that are sustainable for the long term and that support decarbonisation.

I thank the Counsel General.