£11m Selby mines package unveiled

Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said the cash would ensure that free training was available to miners as soon as they got notice of redundancy.

Advisers would be appointed to offer "one-to-one" support to each miner on their individual training needs.

A miners' jobs fair was also being organised and a jobs hotline would be set up at Selby JobCentre.

Mrs Hewitt said the Government would also provide an additional £60,000 to extend careers information and advice to miners' families and others in the community affected by the pits closure.

Other measures funded by the package include:

assigning personal business advisers to help companies affected by the complex's closure

provide more help to older mineworkers with disabilities or with medical conditions that reduce their chances of securing new jobs

offer extra resources to support young people who may have expected to have jobs that depended on the Selby complex.

The £11 million for retraining package is part of a £35 million package that the Selby Coalfield Task Force now has at its disposal to regenerate the area's economy after the complex closes next March.

The remaining £24 million has been pledged by regional development agencies Yorkshire Forward and English Partnerships.

The Government has already promised £10 million to allow Selby miners to receive more generous pre-privatisation redundancy terms.

Task Force chairman Lord Haskins said today he was delighted with the Government's response. It would mean they could now ensure an ordered and sensible rundown.

Selby District Council economy board chairman Roy Wilson said: "Patricia Hewitt has listened and we have got all we asked for in terms of Government support."

He said that £500,000 would be spent on improving the access, appearance and marketing of Sherburn Business Park, and £1.5 million on access for new business created by the Selby bypass.

Updated: 15:34 Wednesday, March 05, 2003