Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has (a) received from and (b) made to the Colombian government on the amount of coal mined in Colombia by children and young people aged under 16; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not engaged with the Colombian government on this issue. Departmental officials have had discussions with NGOs and industry bodies regarding coal mining in Columbia but have not been made aware of evidence to support these claims. We are aware that Columbia has laws in place to prevent child labour; if there is evidence to the contrary we would encourage the Hon Member to share it with officials.