Considerable progress has been made over the past 10 years revitalising the former English coalfields, raising aspirations in these communities through regeneration, education and job creation. People are being given access to the skills and jobs they need, the environmental legacy of the coal industry is being cleaned up and the housing, economic and social needs of the local communities are being addressed. The English Partnership’s Coalfield Programme; the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and the Coalfields Enterprise Fund, are delivering real change with combined budgets of over £0.5 billion. A recent independent evaluation of the Department’s coalfield specific regeneration programmes available at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1508895, gave strong support to the approach we have taken and confirmed the effectiveness of these programmes.