Linsday Hoyle has berated Michael Gove for breaching the Ministerial Code, suspending the House for half an hour. This came after the Leveling Up Secretary gave a statement on the newly approved coal mine in Cumbria, without supplying the Speaker with a copy of the statement in advance.
Hitting out at Mr Gove, Sir Lindsay said: “I’ve got the thinnest statement ever and quite rightly the minister has gone long.
“So there is something missing between what I’ve provided, what the opposition has provided.
“That is not according to the ministerial code. We don’t work like that.
“The shadow secretary has not been able to read what has been said. I’m going to suspend the house for five minutes in order to try and find out what is in and has just been told to the house.”
The House did not return until half an hour later.
Addressing the House of Commons, Michael Gove said the coal mine in Cumbria would “to some extent, support the transition to a low-carbon future”.
The Communities Secretary told the Commons: “It is vitally important that all of us recognise, as the inspector does on page 255, that the proposed development would to some extent support the transition to a low-carbon future, specifically as a consequence of the provision of a currently needed resource from a mine that aspires to be net-zero.
“I think it is also important that we recognize that in any change of land use there will always be a potential impact on biodiversity and on the local environment as well.
“And again, it is important to note that the inspector on page 278 of his report makes it clear that this mine would not cause any unacceptable impacts on ecology, nor result in a net loss in bio diversity.”
On the impact on employment and on the economy, locally and nationally, Mr Gove said: “As the inspector notes on page 279, the mine will directly create 532 jobs, which will make a substantial contribution to local employment opportunities, because these will be skilled and well-paid jobs.
“The employment and the indirect employment that would follow will result in a significant contribution to the local and regional economy with increased spending in local shops, facilities, and services.”
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