Written Statement: Introduction of the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill

Today, the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill (‘the Bill’) and Explanatory Memorandum have been laid before the Senedd Cymru.

Wales has a proud mining heritage, and its legacy is visible across our landscape today. The Bill is about the safety of coal and non-coal tips in Wales. There are 2,573 disused coal tips in Wales, and whilst they are predominantly in the South Wales valleys, this issue impacts both West and North Wales, as well as there being an estimated 20,000 other disused tips (i.e. not coal) in Wales. 

In February 2020, following storms Ciara and Dennis, a series of coal tip landslides occurred in Wales, including a major landslide of a disused tip in Tylorstown. These landslides, as well as the recent incident at Cwmtillery, illustrate the potential risks that disused tips present to communities. 

It is imperative that we have a structured approach to managing disused tips to ensure they are safe and not a threat to our communities. 

 In October 2020, the Welsh Government invited the Law Commission to evaluate current legislation relating to disused coal tips. It reported in 2022: Regulating Coal Tip Safety in Wales. It considered the current legislative framework in Part 2 of the Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969, and stated that that Act no longer provides an effective management framework for disused coal tips in the twenty-first century. Reform was recommended. 

A key commitment and priority for this Government, as set out in our Programme for Government 2021, is to introduce legislation to ensure coal tip safety. 

The Bill satisfies that commitment and, in recognition of the Law Commission’s recommendations about the shortcomings of the existing legislative framework, establishes a new regime specifically designed to deal with the disused tips that are part of the post-industrial landscape in Wales.

The primary focus of the Bill is safety – of both coal and non-coal tips – ensuring [the protection of human welfare] that communities in Wales feel safe in their homes.  The Bill will achieve this by establishing a new public body, the Disused Tips Authority for Wales (‘the Authority’), which will have functions in relation to the assessment, registration, monitoring and management of disused tips.   

In summary, the Bill:

1. establishes the Authority as a body corporate. Its main objective in carrying out its functions under the Bill is to ensure that disused tips do not threaten human welfare by reason of their instability,
2. makes provision for the assessment, registration and monitoring of disused tips,
3. contains provisions that enable the Authority to deal with tip instability and threats to tip instability. This includes powers to require an owner of land to carry out operations and for the Authority to carry out operations itself, and related provisions in respect of payments in connection with such operations, 
4. contains supplementary provisions including powers of entry, information sharing provisions and powers to require information, and
5. creates related offences to support the enforcement of the regime. 

I look forward to working with Members and stakeholders on the Bill’s proposals in the coming months.