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rhyds · 23-10-2016, 09:33

The scandal was that the National Coal Board refused to pay for the remaining tips above the village to be removed because, in their opinion, they were perfectly safe. They didn't care that they'd said the same thing about the tip that moved, or the psychological damage those remaining tips would cause.

The government didn't want to force the NCB to shift the tips (The NCB was essentially a branch of government), until the villages essentially raided the Welsh Office in Cardiff and dumped bags of coal waste on minsters' desks.

The real scandal however was that while the government gave the NCB a grant to pay for the removal, they forced the Aberfan disaster relief fund, which had received over a million pounds of public donations (at 1966 rates), to pay £150,000 towards removing the tips.

The trustees fought against it, as it was not only totally immoral (it would be like asking Hillsborough families to pay for a new Leppings Lane stand) but also illegal under charities law, but even the Charities Commission put pressure on them. In the end the trustees gave in as they were afraid there was no other way to get rid of the tips.

In 1997, the incoming Labour government paid back the £150,000, but without any interest or inflation. In 2009, the Welsh Assembly Government finally paid the money back in real terms (with inflation and interest taken in to account) which was about two million.

23-10-2016, 09:33	#19
rhyds Inactive Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: North Wales Services: Plusnet Phone/BB, Freesat, VM Business BB (Cable) Posts: 821	Re: RIP Aberfan The scandal was that the National Coal Board refused to pay for the remaining tips above the village to be removed because, in their opinion, they were perfectly safe. They didn't care that they'd said the same thing about the tip that moved, or the psychological damage those remaining tips would cause. The government didn't want to force the NCB to shift the tips (The NCB was essentially a branch of government), until the villages essentially raided the Welsh Office in Cardiff and dumped bags of coal waste on minsters' desks. The real scandal however was that while the government gave the NCB a grant to pay for the removal, they forced the Aberfan disaster relief fund, which had received over a million pounds of public donations (at 1966 rates), to pay £150,000 towards removing the tips. The trustees fought against it, as it was not only totally immoral (it would be like asking Hillsborough families to pay for a new Leppings Lane stand) but also illegal under charities law, but even the Charities Commission put pressure on them. In the end the trustees gave in as they were afraid there was no other way to get rid of the tips. In 1997, the incoming Labour government paid back the £150,000, but without any interest or inflation. In 2009, the Welsh Assembly Government finally paid the money back in real terms (with inflation and interest taken in to account) which was about two million.