Mansfield MP calls on Government to get thousands more ex-miners their fair share of pension pot surplus

The government privatised British Coal in 1994, but before privatisation, British Coal had two large main pension schemes.

These were the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme (MPS) and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS).

After privatisation, the government replaced British Coal as guarantor and it was agreed any surplus from the schemes would be shared equally.

Successive governments have made £4.8bn from the MPS and £3.2bn from the BCSSS.

Following a persistent campaign from MPS members, Chancellor Rachel Reeves (Lab) said last year all of the MPS investment reserve would be handed over to ex-mineworkers and their families in a landmark arrangement.

The pot was worth around £1.5bn, and the move has already helped more than 8,000 former mineworkers in Nottinghamshire receive extra pension payments.

Following the announcement in October, beneficiaries of the separate British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) have now called on the Government to release its surplus to members.

While the surplus-sharing arrangement for this scheme ended in 2015, a £2.3bn investment reserve fund still exists, and members are now asking the Government to change the rules to release the funds.

Energy minister Sarah Jones says she has since met with BCSSS trustees and is talking to the treasury about options.

Across the country there are around 40,000 beneficiaries of the scheme.

The Mansfield constituency has the most beneficiaries of any other area in the country at just under 1,300 members.

Sherwood Forest has 1,136 members, the second-highest, while Ashfield has 817, Bassetlaw 706, Newark 271 and Gedling 229.

Steve Yemm, Mansfield’s MP (Lab), told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he has met trustees and has been working with them on their campaign.

Mr Yemm said members of the BCSSS started contacting him after the Labour Party delivered on its promise with the MPS.

Around 40 per cent of BCSSS beneficiaries are women, including widows and those who worked in roles such as payroll and finance.

“The point I’m making to Government is there are a lot of comparisons between the two schemes,” Mr Yemm said.

“There is a reserve fund that can be transferred over in exactly the same way.

“We are pushing to get this done. It has become really apparent to me the degree of hardship and what some of these folks have been through.

“One of the big ones for me is David Shelton. David was 31 years old, and was an under-manager at Bilsthorpe Colliery in 1993 when they had a big accident. He was one of the last men that was killed in an NCB (National Coal Board) mine before privatisation.

“They had a massive roof fall. Miners were trapped. David rushed back to help save the people who were trapped, but was killed. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross.

“But he left behind an unborn child, his daughter, so now he has beneficiaries, including his former wife and a daughter he never met.

“His wife would benefit if we could get this reserve fund signed over. There are so many individual cases like that. They powered the country, but actually they are all on pretty low pensions, and some of them have had very difficult lives.”

Mick Newton, who worked at Thoresby Colliery for 15 years, had campaigned for a fairer deal for beneficiaries of the MPS for over a decade.

He says some of his family members would benefit from a similar arrangement with the BCSSS.

He told the LDRS: “I think they will be successful.

“They never expected us to get a victory with the MPS. But now we have, they have been hanging on to our coattails so to speak.”

Mr Newton said the release of surplus funds for the beneficiaries of the MPS had already made a “massive difference”.

He said he is now receiving around £300 extra per month.

“I had 15 years down the pit,” he said. “There are lots of people out there who had 30 years or more. It will make a massive difference.”

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson added: “The British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme operates in a different way to the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme, as agreed with the Scheme Trustees.

“Minister Jones recently met with Trustees of the BCSSS and has committed to talking to the Treasury about their proposals.

“The government has taken no money from the scheme’s surpluses since 2015. All of that surplus is used purely to fund future pensions.”