Key Takeaways
- • The government dropped a commitment to release more than £1bn from the Mineworkers Pension Scheme (MPS) guarantor's fund in last week's Budget, according to openDemocracy, leaving more than 100,000 ex-miners without a payment timetable.
- • Chancellor John Healey's Treasury has pledged to release the money "within weeks, not months" after more than 40 MPs wrote to the chancellor, with the aim of payments still reaching miners before Christmas.
- • Coalfield MPs led by Jon Trickett have threatened to table an amendment to the Finance Bill if the timeline is not met, per openDemocracy.
- • The payment would add about £20 per week to pensions at no cost to taxpayers, according to openDemocracy's sources, and the fund's release was previously expected this week, freeing an estimated £1.2bn per MPs' estimates.
- • The NUM says miners have lost more than £4.4bn since British Coal's 1994 privatisation deal gave the Treasury 50% of investment surpluses.
Summary
Coalfield MPs will force a parliamentary debate on the Mineworkers Pension Scheme (MPS) guarantor's fund if the issue is not resolved within weeks, openDemocracy reports. Labour MPs in former mining areas have been "lobbying hard behind the scenes" since the government quietly dropped a plan to release more than £1bn from the fund in last week's Budget.
Sources involved in government discussions told openDemocracy that a last-minute technical error within the Treasury led to the measure being removed. The payment would cost taxpayers nothing but would give more than 100,000 ex-miners an extra £20 per week in pension income. Treasury sources said the government's claim to the fund still had to be accounted for in fiscal headroom under certain accounting standards, although the guarantor's fund is a share of an investment surplus held by the pension fund rather than taxpayer money.
Following complaints from more than 40 MPs, the government has pledged to release the money "within weeks, not months." Jon Trickett said MPs had warned the Treasury they would table a Finance Bill amendment if ministers miss that timeline. The Mineworkers' Pension Scheme's final pot, estimated by MPs at £1.2bn, had been expected to be released this week.
The background dates to the 1994 privatisation of British Coal, when John Major's government guaranteed the two primary miners' pensions in exchange for 50% of any investment surplus. According to the National Union of Mineworkers, miners have lost out on more than £4.4bn as a result. Rachel Reeves released one of the MPS funds in 2024 and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme fund last year.
Scheme trustees, chaired by Gary Saunders, welcomed the commitment but said members need action within days, noting that 100 members die each week. The trustees said an agreement is ready to sign and would allow payments to start by the end of the year, and have invited the chancellor to a meeting in his South Yorkshire constituency later this month. NUM general secretary Chris Kitchen welcomed the pledge while urging faster action.
In the Budget, Healey ended the 50:50 split of future surpluses between government and members and abolished the "standstill" rule that could freeze bonus pensions in deficit. Reform said it would transfer the funds within its first 100 days in office if they have not been released by then.
Sources involved in government discussions told openDemocracy that a last-minute technical error within the Treasury led to the measure being removed. The payment would cost taxpayers nothing but would give more than 100,000 ex-miners an extra £20 per week in pension income. Treasury sources said the government's claim to the fund still had to be accounted for in fiscal headroom under certain accounting standards, although the guarantor's fund is a share of an investment surplus held by the pension fund rather than taxpayer money.
Following complaints from more than 40 MPs, the government has pledged to release the money "within weeks, not months." Jon Trickett said MPs had warned the Treasury they would table a Finance Bill amendment if ministers miss that timeline. The Mineworkers' Pension Scheme's final pot, estimated by MPs at £1.2bn, had been expected to be released this week.
The background dates to the 1994 privatisation of British Coal, when John Major's government guaranteed the two primary miners' pensions in exchange for 50% of any investment surplus. According to the National Union of Mineworkers, miners have lost out on more than £4.4bn as a result. Rachel Reeves released one of the MPS funds in 2024 and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme fund last year.
Scheme trustees, chaired by Gary Saunders, welcomed the commitment but said members need action within days, noting that 100 members die each week. The trustees said an agreement is ready to sign and would allow payments to start by the end of the year, and have invited the chancellor to a meeting in his South Yorkshire constituency later this month. NUM general secretary Chris Kitchen welcomed the pledge while urging faster action.
In the Budget, Healey ended the 50:50 split of future surpluses between government and members and abolished the "standstill" rule that could freeze bonus pensions in deficit. Reform said it would transfer the funds within its first 100 days in office if they have not been released by then.
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