Support call for coalfield communities

Mick Clapham, an ex-miner, NUM official and the retired MP for Barnsley West and Penistone, says "targeted support" is still needed to help people build on recent successes.

Mr Clapham was asked to undertake a review of coalfield regeneration by the previous Government and will submit his findings to Liberal Democrat minister Andrew Stunell.

HIs report says there is an ongoing role for coalfields charity, the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, and calls for a continuation of the National Coalfield Programme, which is bringing derelict colliery sites back into active use.

He also calls for a smaller grants or loans scheme to help coalfield businesses who are finding it difficult to access funding in the current economic climate.

Mr Clapham said the report should feed into the debate over the Government's spending review and added: "Successive governments have done a lot to regenerate the coalfields and there are signs that their initiatives are bearing fruit.

"But the current recession has highlighted the fragility of that recovery and the vulnerability of these communities."