In my role as vice-chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coalfield Communities, I was delighted to join cross-party colleagues at the launch of our new report, published today, entitled 'Next Steps in Levelling-Up the Former Coalfields'.
We commissioned this report because, despite any party-political differences, we all hail from former coalfield areas and want to work together in the best interests of our communities. As I said in my maiden speech, I am proud to represent an area with this massive industrial legacy and feel a huge responsibility to speak up for your interests, not just talking about the past, but also the future of these areas and how they can grow.
The report makes 12 recommendations, focusing on the need for investment in local rail and local infrastructure, economic growth, and how we can utilise coalfield legacy assets, particularly heat from minewater.
I hope this report can build a political consensus to inform discussions within all political parties about how to approach levelling up, and will be working with colleagues in the APPG to get these recommendations on the Government's radar, including in a forthcoming meeting with the Secretary of State, Michael Gove.
You can read the report here: https://www.appgcoalfields.co.uk/coalfields-inquiry