Yorkshire’s mining towns have been forgotten for too long - Peter McNestry

It was understandably received with shock, dismay and demands that ‘something must be done.’ At The Coalfields Regeneration Trust, it sadly came as no surprise.

As an organisation founded to support and improve the quality of life for the 5.7m people living in former coalfields, we have first-hand knowledge of the impact of austerity and government cuts.

Our own findings in the State of the Coalfields 2019 report, produced by Sheffield Hallam University Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, show that the percentage of residents in these forgotten communities aged 16 and above reporting health problems lasting more than 12 months is 38 per cent, compared to 27 per cent in London.

The number of people claiming Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments in former mining communities is 493,000, or 8.6 per cent of residents. This is compared to just 4.5 per cent in London and 5.8 per cent nationwide.

Our evidence clearly concurs with Sir Michael Marmot’s conclusions on the health impacts of austerity – but this tells just part of the story.

Our State of The Coalfields Report outlined not just health inequalities but the wider issues affecting our forgotten communities.

Many former mining areas remain within the 30 per cent most deprived in the country and austerity has prevented social progress in many respects. Local authorities have been challenged with trying to meet the needs of disadvantaged communities with ever decreasing budgets.

Whilst life chances across the UK when it comes to education, jobs, health and income have all been hit hard over the last decade due to ongoing austerity, in coalfield areas the effects of this have been amplified.

Places such as Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster have been struggling for decades to get back on their feet after the decimation caused by the closure of the mining industry. Just when we were beginning to see improvements, along came austerity and knocked those communities back even further.

This coincided with the decision to cut our government funding and task us with becoming entirely self-financing in 2011. Right when coalfield communities needed the most support, the organisation founded to give them that support had to scale back its activity.

Whilst we have made some significant progress, this has been hampered by recessions, austerity and a lack of funding. Where we have been able to provide services in regard to employment, skills and health and wellbeing, we have made a significant contribution to improving the lives of people living in former mining areas. But due to funding constraints, we have been unable to scale that support to deliver a lasting impact both for now and generations to come.

To begin to tackle these significant social, economic and health challenges facing coalfield communities, and reduce the inequalities in those areas, efforts need to be focused and funds found to enable the level of support required. Councils in the coalfields need the money to provide the services their residents so badly need, and organisations like ours need the funding so we can support that.

That is why we are calling on Government to create a dedicated Coalfields Investment Fund, which will allow us to scale-up our activities and to continue to work in the forgotten communities that need our support the most. With focused support and by working in partnership with other service providers, we can begin to change things.

By improving employment rates, increasing skills and developing health and well-being programmes, we can ensure coalfield communities make a real contribution to the economic growth and prosperity of the UK.

We simply cannot allow the flatlining to continue in our communities hit hardest by the economic challenges of the last few decades. Generations are being lost and people who deserve to thrive, not merely survive, have been continuously let down. The Marmot Review deserves to be a watershed moment; these communities have been forgotten for long enough.

Peter McNestry is chair of The Coalfields Regeneration Trust.