‘Vindication’ as MPS back pit pensions call
CAMPAIGNER HAILS MINERS’ CASH RECOMMENDATION
THE Government should transfer £1.2 billion back into the pockets of miners in a review of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme, say MPS.
A parliamentary committee has published a “damning” report into the injustice felt by members of the scheme.
The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee yesterday unveiled recommendations to examine how the pension pot is divided and for money to be returned to miners “struggling to make ends meet”.
Issues arose after the fund was privatised in 1994, with the Government establishing a 50:50 surplus arrangement with the miners.
Miners were promised their pensions would never decrease and that no more than £2 billion was needed to help shore up the pot for the future.
But to date, successive governments have received a total of £4.4 billion in cash payments.
Battles between campaigners and the Government led to a 100,000-signature petition in 2019, as well as select committee reviews this year.
Campaigners have long been calling for the reserve to be transferred back.
Mick Newton, a former miner at Thoresby Colliery, has led the calls.
Mr Newton, originally from Mansfield, feels “vindicated” by the new report.
“It’s an excellent report and it is damning of the arrangements the Government put in place with the pension scheme,” he said.
“The suggested improvements to the scheme are fantastic. There are more discussions to be had and the involvement of the committee will hopefully continue.
“I have to say that, after all these years, we can now feel vindicated that we have been campaigning for the right reasons, that we’re being listened to at long last by Westminster.”
The report says the Government should relinquish the investment reserve of £1.2 billion and return this to the miners.
It adds that the 50:50 arrangement goes against the Government’s “levelling-up” agenda, describing it as “unconscionable” that former miners are financially struggling despite “vast sums” received by the Government.
Committee chairman Darren Jones said: “The Government has benefited from billions of pounds of surpluses since 1994 without having to contribute a pound of taxpayers’ money to miners’ pensions.
“Mining communities have suffered from pit closures for generations, with many pensioners now living on low incomes.
“Whilst the Government’s guarantee to the pension fund has provided vital security to Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme members, it’s clear that the Government has profited to a far greater extent than originally envisaged. That now needs to change.
“The Government should now act quickly on our recommendations by agreeing to hand back more of future surpluses to pensioners and delivering an immediate uplift through the return of the £1.2bn investment reserve.”
The report calls on the Government to acknowledge that a better outcome for pensions should be found.
It also recommends that the current surplus sharing arrangements should end and that in future the Government should only be entitled to a share of surpluses if it has to put any money into the pension scheme.
It would mean an additional £14 per week for more than 55,000 former miners in the East Midlands.