The injustice of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme has gone on for far too long.

Following the Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy Select Committee’s inquiry into the Scheme, I’m pleased that today’s report concludes that the surplus sharing arrangement should be amended in favour of miners, and the £1.2 billion Investment Reserve should be shared out to provide an immediate uplift to members’ pensions.

Despite the Government having made no contributions to the Scheme since it was privatised in 1994, they have received over £4.4bn from it thus far and are due to receive a further £1.9bn, at least. The report states that, in creating these arrangements, the government ‘failed to conduct due diligence … and was negligent by not taking actuarial advice.’

The publication of this report follows a cross-party letter I coordinated to the Committee, signed by 50 fellow MPs, and years of campaigning from the NUM, Trustees, and members of the Scheme.

The report concludes that any government should not be in the business of profiting from miners’ pensions, and I’m calling on the Government to immediately implement the Committee’s recommendations in full, to provide a fairer deal for miners and their families.