To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he and the agencies in Wales he supports financially intend to take to alleviate the problems arising from the closure of the Taf Merthyr colliery, Bedlinog.

A regeneration programme for those areas affected by the coal review valued at £43 million was announced by my predecessor last October. This includes a wide range of measures for the Taff Merthyr area by my Department, the Welsh Development Agency, the relevant training and enterprise councils and the Employment Service, in addition to significant initiatives taken by British Coal Enterprise.Following the closure of Taff Merthyr colliery, I am relaxing eligibility conditions of the Government's adult training programmes to allow immediate entry to training, retraining and business start up for ex-colliery employees and others within the affected area. I will formally approve further training and employment measures for the areas affected by coal closure in the near future.