'Victory' as Budget promises miners' pension cash

Former mineworkers in Nottinghamshire have claimed victory after the chancellor announced she will release their surplus pension fund money.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced on Wednesday that members of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) will receive £2.3bn, which has been held by the government since 1994.

Watching the Budget at a pub in Warsop, ex-mineworkers said they had got "justice", and paid tribute to members of the scheme who have died waiting for the announcement.

More than 8,850 of the scheme's members live in the East Midlands. Mansfield has the highest number of members in the country, followed by Sherwood Forest.

Reeves announced in last year's Budget that members of the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme (MPS) would receive extra payments, but at the time nothing was guaranteed for BCSSS members.

The BCSSS fund includes ex-miners as members along with people who held other roles in the industry.

In the Budget speech this week, Reeves said: "I will transfer the investment reserve fund of the BCSSS to its members so that the men and women who worked in our coal industry get a fair deal in their retirement too."

Former miner Dave Drury, who started work at Welbeck Colliery in Mansfield when he was 16, watched the Budget at his pub, the Black Market.

"We've finally got justice," he said.

"Every penny in that scheme is from our wages and employer contributions.

"It's a victory that we've got it returned but we are still bitter."

Speaking of the members who have died, he added: "It's sad that they never got to receive pensions that they deserved."

Mansfield's Labour MP Steve Yemm has campaigned on the issue since his election last year.

"This is so important to me, my family worked in the industry and I absolutely understand when the former mineworkers say they want justice in their pensions," he said.

"For me it could never come soon enough. They paid into this scheme year after year, doing one of the hardest jobs you could imagine.

"It'll mean a 50% increase into their pension, and I believe it will be backdated for a year. The trustees will be looking to get that to them as soon as possible."

Peter Short, a former mineworker who worked at Bilsthorpe, Harworth and Thoresby mines, said he was "delighted" by the news.

He went to London last week with fellow former mineworkers to call on the government to release the funds.

He said: "It's a fight for justice. Something which should've happened many years ago.

"When the announcement was made, I was quite emotional about it, not just for me, but for so many people who will benefit from this increase."

Of the roughly 40,000 BCSSS members, about 40% are women.

Kim Smith, who worked at the Coal Board, based in Mansfield, said: "I was emotional when she made the announcement, because we have been working on it for such a long time.

"It's such a relief, it is going to make a massive difference."

She also credited the national BCSSS Facebook group, which has almost 5,000 members, and encouraged people to lobby their MP on the issue.

Cheryl Agius, chairwoman of trustees of the BCSSS, said: "This is a historic moment - the result of a year of determination, advocacy and collaboration - and it marks a turning point for the Scheme.

"The Scheme is now working hard to increase their pensions, and we hope to do this before the end of the year."