Surface coal mine restoration: final report to opencast coal task force

ANNEX A

Finance sub-group remit and membership ^[34]

• assess the financial climate in assurance
• make an assessment of parent company guarantees, the market in insurance policies and the pros and cons of escrow accounts
• recommend how planning authorities should approach financial guarantees in future
• consider the value of drafting bond templates
• explore the matter of landowner accountability, and
• meet periodically to discuss evidence and draft conclusions

The group held its first meeting on 30 July 2014 and met again on 10 October 2014.

Membership of the finance working group:

Members were selected by the Scottish Government with reference to expertise and experience in the opencast coal sector with particular care to ensure broad representation across all parties interested in the sector. Substitutes or replacements attend from time to time.

Both groups will call on a presence from or write to other experts in relevant fields as required. So far this has included:

• RSPB
• Department for Energy and Climate Change
• Heads of Planning Scotland
• Institute of Civil Engineers Scotland
• CoalPro
• Coal Authority
• Mineral Products Association (Scotland)
• Community Alliance
• Audit Scotland
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
• Health and Safety Executive
• RBS Group
• Euler Hermes
• Zurich Global
• ACE European Group