Aid helps Scots mine jobs

Longannet has up to 50 million tonnes of reserves

The European Commission has cleared a £100m aid package for the UK's coal industry, which will help safeguard jobs at the Longannet mine in Fife.

Ministers say it will help pits with a viable long-term future but which are suffering from short-term problems.

Longannet is Scotland's last deep mine and employs 650 people.

Mining (Scotland) Ltd, which operates Longannet, made a submission earlier this year to receive a share of the aid package.

Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers welcomed approval for the coal aid.

Stephen Byers: Welcomed announcement

Mr Byers said the industry had to find its own place in the energy market but the government wanted the subsidy scheme to help with a "period of change".

"This will provide the industry with transitional funding so that it is able to respond to the challenges of the new market conditions that arise from the lifting of the stricter gas consents policy," he added.

He announced approval for six gas power stations in England

It is hoped the funding will help combat the large state subsidies received by foreign pits and assist the industry to adapt to changes in the electricity market.

Longannet is estimated to have up to 50 million tonnes of reserves.

Two decades of work

Production on the Kincardine Reserve, beneath the Firth of Forth, began last December and was said at the time to have the potential to secure the 650 jobs for 20 years.

Speaking in April, the chairman of Mining (Scotland), Professor Ross Harper, said: "Government support is imperative to ensure the survival of the industry in the short-term even though it may only provide a temporary levelling of the playing field against international competitors.

"We understand that this government aid will only be given to those companies that can demonstrate that they will be able to compete in the international marketplace in the long-term.