Key Takeaways
- • Chancellor John Healey told the House of Commons on Tuesday that former miners will receive "every penny" of the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme (MPS) surplus, with work to complete the transfer "in weeks, not months."
- • The Guarantor's Fund, believed to be worth £1.2bn, is at the centre of the dispute, with Healey having pledged its full transfer and an end to the "standstill arrangement" in his Budget speech.
- • Labour MPs representing former mining seats had protested on the eve of the Budget after being told the government planned to renege on the pledge; the Coalfield Group wrote to Healey demanding immediate release of the fund.
- • The Coalfield Group said the government has taken more than £4.4bn from the MPS since 1994 under a guarantee that has never cost the public purse a penny.
- • Reform UK urged payment before Christmas and pledged payment within the first 100 days of a Nigel Farage-led government.
Summary
Chancellor John Healey has pledged that former miners will receive their remaining pension funds following a backlash from Labour MPs on the eve of last week's Budget, according to PoliticsHome. Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Healey said work was underway, to be carried out jointly by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Treasury, to ensure the transfer happens "in weeks, not months."
In his Budget speech the previous Wednesday, Healey pledged the "full transfer of the Guarantor's Fund," believed to be worth £1.2bn, and promised to end the "standstill arrangement," which ensures pensions for former miners continue to rise. The dispute arose after a group of Labour MPs representing former mining seats expressed fury on the night before the Budget, when they were told the government planned to renege on its pledge to transfer what remains of the MPS. MPs including John Trickett (Normanton and Hemsworth) and Kate Osbourne made urgent representations to No 10, the Treasury and the whips.
Healey's latest statement responded to a question from Scottish Labour MP Imogen Walker, who sought an updated timeline. PoliticsHome understands Healey told a Parliamentary Labour Party meeting on Monday night that he is working with MPS trustees to ensure ex-miners receive what is owed within weeks. Separately, the Coalfield Group of Labour MPs, including Luke Akehurst, Rachel Taylor and chair Grahame Morris, wrote to Healey demanding immediate release of the £1.2bn fund, arguing that "since 1994, the government has taken more than £4.4bn from the MPS in return for a guarantee that has never cost the public purse a penny."
Opposition pressure also came from Reform UK, which on Monday urged the government to pay the remaining fund before Christmas and promised that ex-miners would be paid within the first 100 days of a Nigel Farage-led government. Robert Jenrick and Lee Anderson said in a joint statement that 18 ex-miners die every day without a fair resolution.
In his Budget speech the previous Wednesday, Healey pledged the "full transfer of the Guarantor's Fund," believed to be worth £1.2bn, and promised to end the "standstill arrangement," which ensures pensions for former miners continue to rise. The dispute arose after a group of Labour MPs representing former mining seats expressed fury on the night before the Budget, when they were told the government planned to renege on its pledge to transfer what remains of the MPS. MPs including John Trickett (Normanton and Hemsworth) and Kate Osbourne made urgent representations to No 10, the Treasury and the whips.
Healey's latest statement responded to a question from Scottish Labour MP Imogen Walker, who sought an updated timeline. PoliticsHome understands Healey told a Parliamentary Labour Party meeting on Monday night that he is working with MPS trustees to ensure ex-miners receive what is owed within weeks. Separately, the Coalfield Group of Labour MPs, including Luke Akehurst, Rachel Taylor and chair Grahame Morris, wrote to Healey demanding immediate release of the £1.2bn fund, arguing that "since 1994, the government has taken more than £4.4bn from the MPS in return for a guarantee that has never cost the public purse a penny."
Opposition pressure also came from Reform UK, which on Monday urged the government to pay the remaining fund before Christmas and promised that ex-miners would be paid within the first 100 days of a Nigel Farage-led government. Robert Jenrick and Lee Anderson said in a joint statement that 18 ex-miners die every day without a fair resolution.
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