In his letter, Steve Yemm MP urged the Treasury to immediately commit to a date for transferring the reserve to the scheme’s members, many of whom are former mineworkers and their families. Mansfield is home to around 1,300 BCSSS members—more than any other constituency in the UK.
Mr. Yemm said:
“The BCSSS issue is testing my patience and that of my constituents. These are people who, along with their families, made sacrifices to ensure they could retire with dignity. They deserve the full benefits of the pensions they paid into.”
The economic case is also clear. It is estimated that the share of the BCSSS investment reserve that would flow into Mansfield over time would amount to around £72 million. With much of this money likely to be spent in local shops and businesses, the impact would be a significant and sustained boost to the local economy—supporting jobs and growth. This additional spending would also generate tax revenue, benefiting the Exchequer as well.
In the past year alone, around 55 BCSSS members in Mansfield have sadly passed away, further underlining the need to act without delay. Many of those who remain are elderly and terminally ill. They and their families deserve to see this issue resolved in their lifetimes.
Mr. Yemm also raised concerns about historic inequalities, particularly for women in the coal industry, who often received less generous pensions than their male colleagues. He has called for full parity between the BCSSS and the Miners’ Pension Scheme (MPS), in both financial and moral terms.
“My community deserves fairness and recognition for the role they played in powering this country,” he added. “I will continue to push for this long-standing injustice to be put right.”