Michael Clapham

I was elected to represent Barnsley West & Penistone in Parliament on the 9th April 1992 with a 14,504 majority. My majority has increased in the 1997 and 2001 elections. On entering Parliament I served on the Trade & Industry Select Committee. The first Inquiry was to examine the Coal Industry. This was, of course, under a Conservative Government and although the report concluded there was a market for coal the recommendations were not acted upon and the reduction in capacity for coal was drastically reduced resulting in many collieries closing. I thoroughly enjoyed the Committee work and was particularly interested in all forms of energy issues.

Following the 1997 elections I was asked to be the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Health and had to give up my position on the Trade & Industry Select Committee. However, my Government position was short lived as I was unable to vote with the Government on its proposed cuts of Loan Parent Benefit in November 1997. Consequently I had to resign my position.

I do, however, have lots to keep me going as a Backbencher in Parliament. I Chair the All Party Parliamentary Occupational Safety & Health Group that is sponsored by the TUC and the British Safety Industry Federation. I am also Chair of the Asbestos Sub Group set up in March 2000 to bring together all those groups in the country who are fighting this fatal disease. In addition I Chair the All Party Parliamentary Coalfield Communities Group. I am Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Fire Safety Group and Hon. Secretary of the Energy Studies Group. I was also elected to sit on the NATO Assembly Committee in November 2000 and serve on the Civil Dimensions of Security Committee. Since November 2003 I have been a member of the Trade and Industry Select Committee.

In connections with Coal Health Claims the Minister set up a Coal Monitoring Group in 1999. At A later date the Minister set up a Monitoring Group in Each of the UK regions where there had been deep coalmining activity. These three regions are England, Scotland and Wales. In addition there are Regional Monitoring Groups in England. The Regional Monitoring Groups cover the North East, the Midlands & Western area, Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Kent Coalfield. The Monitoring Group has terms of reference set by the Minister. I Chair the Yorkshire Monitoring Group and I am also a member of the English Monitoring Group. The job of the Monitoring Group is to liaise with all the parties to the Coal Health Agreements, help to remove obstructions and ensure public confidence. There are two main Coal Health Schemes. The Vibration White Finger Scheme and the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Scheme. The former closed on the 31st March 2002 and there are 168,000 registered VWF claims. The latter Scheme will close on the 31st March 2004 and already there are more than 400,000 claims registered.

The Minister has indicated that the total cost of the Coal Health Schemes is likely to be in the region of £8 billion. Already the Compensation Schemes have injected large amounts of money into coalfield areas which have gone directly into the local economy. For example, claimants in South Yorkshire have received one third of £1billion to date and that is likely to double or more by the time all claims have been settled.