HUNDREDS of redundancythreatened miners will find out in the coming days if they will get help to find new work, it has been revealed.

The Government is expected to make a decision on potential support for more than 200 workers facing the axe at east Cleveland’s ICL UK by Monday.

Whitehall officials are discussing whether funds in the SSI Taskforce, originally founded to support steelworkers in the aftermath of Redcar-based SSI UK’s collapse, can be extended to miners, after cross-party calls were made to release the cash pot.

ICL UK’s job cuts come as the company continues to react to dwindling traditional North Sea mineral reserves at its Boulby site, with muriate of potash mining being superseded by a focus on the multi-nutrient fertiliser polyhalite.

However, Simon Clarke, MP for Middlesbrough South and east Cleveland, says he has now spoken to Business Minister Andrew Griffiths about potential support for miners, adding the financial support plan has two strands.

The first ask is to allow miners to benefit from more than £1m in Taskforce cash aimed at supporting re-training and job support schemes, which are both at present restricted to former SSI UK and supply chain staff.

The second is to ensure flexibilities available to the Department for Work and Pensions and colleges for training purposes are available to ICL UK workers.

Mr Clarke said: “Our talks were very constructive and I’m extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to present our case and likewise that Mr Griffiths has committed he will give us his decision within the week.

“The Taskforce has delivered superb support to those affected by the SSI UK closure and I desperately hope the team will get the chance to do so again for everyone at Boulby.

“Securing ministerial sign-off to add Taskforce money to the support available would make for a very strong package indeed to help those caught up in this horrible situation.”

The calls for support have been given greater weight by Labour Redcar MP Anna Turley, who issued a rallying cry in the immediate aftermath of ICL UK’s announcement earlier this month to make the SSI UK funds available.

Ms Turley, who campaigned to save the Redcar steelworks, said: “When the Government closed our steelworks, the Taskforce was set up to help the thousands of people made unemployed.

“The loss of hundreds more industrial jobs at Boulby has increased the pain. The support needs to be urgently extended.”

Labour east Cleveland councillor David Walsh has also backed the campaign, saying ex-miners have the skills and fortitude to re-train for life in other professions.

ICL UK first revealed its restructure plan in 2015, announcing it would cut 700 jobs in separate redundancy waves after tests showed muriate of potash reserves were running extremely low.

Hundreds of workers have already left, with the firm, known locally as Cleveland Potash, switching to polyhalite, which bosses say will secure the mine’s long-term future by generating bumper global trade deals.