Britain’s largest coal mining businesses, UK Coal may return to public ownership, as ministers discuss a plan designed to support the company’s struggling pension scheme.

Currently 6,800 pension scheme members are threatened by the potential collapse of UK Coal, with a collapse potentially devaluing £360 million from the pension pot.

UK Coal is facing significant uncertainty following the closure of the Daw Mill deep-pit in Warkshire due to a fire, which represented the largest deep-pit project for the company.

The loss of the single largest UK deep-pit resulted in 650 job losses and a further loss of £260 million from equipment damage and coal stock destruction.

Government ministers have met with union officials and company officials to discuss the potential nationalisation of the company in a bid to prevent damage to pension scheme, which would place the resulting pension deficient on the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

Ministers are now looking at the possibility of moving assets and the operations of the Daw Mill pit to the government run Coal Authority.

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