Engineering news
Ministers are asking a taxpayer-funded body to bail out the country's biggest coal miner after a devastating pit fire that has threatened the future of the company, it has emerged.
The part-nationalisation is being considered in a bid to save UKCoal from collapse after an underground blaze at Daw Mill, Warwickshire, in March, the Sunday Times has reported.
The fire is thought to have cost the company nearly £300 million, putting the jobs of 2,000 employees in jeopardy and threatening the pensions of around 10,000 staff, as well as halting its main source of cash flow.
Now, a specialist team at the Department of Business, Innovations and Skills is reported to be leading bail-out discussions across Whitehall.
It is thought that ministers are trying to persuade the Coal Authority, a taxpayer-funded body backed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), to help rescue the healthy parts of the business by taking over Daw Mill.
The deal could include some of UK Coal's pensions obligations in a transfer that would have to be approved by the Pensions Regulator.
It would allow the company to maintain operations at its six other surface mines and two deep mines, according to the Sunday Times.
Energy minister Michael Fallon reportedly said: "We are looking at whether the ownership of Daw Mill can be transferred back to the Coal Authority."
DECC said: "The Government is looking at a number of options about UKCoal's future."
UK Coal said: "Discussions are ongoing with a wide range of interested parties, including our employees, government, pension funds, the pensions regulator, our insurers, suppliers and customers, to find a way forward for the remaining viable mines."