26 March 2025
Following our update in January, we wanted to let you know what the Trustees have been doing since then.
How you can play your part
Firstly, the Trustees have been encouraged by how many of you are actively supporting the call for equal treatment of BCSSS members. If you have written to your MP or to the government ministers responsible for the Scheme, you have played an important part in helping to correct this injustice.
There is a continuing need for the government to hear your voice. You may wish to consider a follow-up letter or email to Darren Jones MP, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury or Sarah Jones, the Minister for Industry. Remember to copy in your own MP, asking for members of BCSSS to be treated equally to members of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme (MPS).
The Trustees’ stance
We also know that many of you will be frustrated by the lack of action from the government, and by some of the comments that have been made in the media.
The Trustees can confirm that our position is:
- the £2.3bn BCSSS investment reserve should be transferred to members as soon as possible, and
- the Government committing to review how any future surplus in the BCSSS is shared between members and the Government.
The Trustees believe that the government has all the information it needs to agree to the transfer. We gave the government the necessary rule change in December last year. And the recently finalised Scheme valuation, along with additional information provided by the Government Actuary’s Department, has also been shared with the government. The valuation shows that our Scheme remains well funded, even after returning the investment reserve.
How the Schemes are alike
Comments have been made about the ‘differences’ between the BCSSS and the MPS. The schemes are separate and have not always made the same decisions or been treated in the same way by past governments. However, there are many overriding similarities between the Schemes that the Trustees have been stressing when meeting stakeholders.
Both Schemes provide pensions to miners and those that supported the mining industry. Both Schemes paid billions to the government. The BCSSS paid £3.2bn under the surplus sharing arrangements that were subsequently ruled unfair by the 2021 Committee, Chaired by Darren Jones MP. Neither scheme has needed a penny of support under the guarantees from the government. One clear difference between the Schemes now is that only MPS members have seen the return of their investment reserve.
The Trustees believe that BCSSS members should be treated equally, there are no barriers to doing this now, and there is no time to waste.
What have the Trustees been doing since we last updated members in January?
In January and then again in February, in response to his comments in the media, the Trustees wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and requested a meeting. We are now awaiting a response.
The BCSSS Trustees are disappointed that they haven’t met any of the government ministers responsible for the Scheme since December last year. The Trustees have continued to meet with MPs that represent many of you, including:
Bleddyn and James meet Jo White MP
Bleddyn and James meet Keir Mather MP
Bleddyn and James meet Sally Jamison MP and Lee Pitcher MP
Bleddyn and James meet Michelle Welsh MP
Bleddyn and James meet the Secretary of State for Defence the Rt Hon John Healey MP
Every MP who met with the Trustees supports our call for equal treatment of BCSSS members. Many of them have asked questions in the House of Commons, including questions to the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Ed Milliband MP, the Rt Hon Darren Jones MP, and the Minister for Industry Sarah Jones MP.
We continue to write to MPs with significant numbers of BCSSS members in their constituency to keep them updated with developments and so they can best support our call for equal treatment.
Finally, the Trustees are now starting to plan how to distribute the investment reserve to members, should the government agree to this. However, the final decision about returning the investment reserve is up to the government, not the Trustees.