The Government must come good on a promise to end a “historic injustice” suffered by miners and their families, coalfield MPs have urged, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Daniel Holland.
North East MPs representing former mining communities have pleaded with Chancellor John Healey to release more than £1 billion remaining in the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme (MPS).
The pensions scheme was taken on by the Government when British Coal was privatised in 1994, with an agreement that it would be able to keep 50% of any investment surplus it generated.
Labour promised to review what it called an “unfair” arrangement in its 2024 manifesto and former Chancellor Rachel Reeves later transferred the scheme’s £1.5 billion investment reserve fund to members.
But Labour MPs have now urged Mr Healey to release a remaining £1.2 billion they say is held in this scheme’s guarantor fund, warning that delays will mean more retired miners dying before they see the money.
In his Budget speech on Wednesday, the Chancellor said he was “guaranteeing that every penny of the pension fund surplus now goes to miners”, but acknowledged: “I know the job’s not finished and I will go on to ensure the full transfer of the guarantor’s fund.”
In a letter to the Chancellor on Wednesday evening, a group of coalfield MPs claimed to have been “dismayed” to learn 24 hours’ prior to the Budget the Treasury that the Government was reportedly going to renege on the £1.2 billion’s release.
They said they welcomed the Chancellor’s words in the Budget, but added: “Before becoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham called the arrangements surrounding the MPS ‘a disgrace and an injustice’ and pledged that if he were in a position to do more he would ‘keep fighting to make sure every promise is honoured and every penny reaches the people it is meant for’.
“With respect, yourself and the Prime Minister are now in that position. Former mineworkers in our constituencies expect these promises to be kept in full. Every week, an increasing number of aging retired miners and their widows die without seeing the settlement they fought for, and every delay adds to that number.
“The fight is not over. While we reiterate that we welcome your commitment to ending all of these historic injustices, we urge you to approve the release of the remaining £1.2 billion in the Guarantor’s Fund immediately, and therefore prove to miners and their families that this Labour Government is on their side.”
The letter was signed by the likes of Easington MP Grahame Morris, Jarrow and Gateshead East’s Kate Osborne, Blyth and Ashington’s Ian Lavery, and North Durham’s Luke Akehurst.
Mr Lavery told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We need to know when they are going to come to distribute this money. There are 6,000 pensioners dying on an annual basis who might not see a penny of this money – where is the justice for them?”
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said the money in the MPS guarantor’s fund was “not taxpayers’ money, it is the remaining ill-gotten gains from an unfair system put in place that has penalised members of the MPS for the last 31 years”.
Ms Osborne added: “John Healey’s commitment today to addressing the historic injustices suffered by former miners and their families was welcome, as were the assurances I received directly from ministers yesterday, that the Government remains committed to transferring the remaining £1.2 billion from the Guarantors’ Fund. However, time is running out for many former miners, and I am disappointed that this transfer has not been included in today’s Budget.
“I will continue to fight to ensure that the government releases these funds without further delay, so that our miners and their widows finally receive the money they deserve before it is too late.”