work<\/a> was comparable.\n<\/p>\n\n “Following years of campaigning, this Labour Government delivered long-overdue justice for MPS members by transferring the Scheme\u2019s \u00a31.5 billion investment reserve to the members, resulting in a 32% pension uplift for thousands of former miners and widows.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I fully welcomed that decision. However, BCSSS members were left out and that simply isn\u2019t good enough.”\n<\/p>\n
\n ![\"An]()
An old image of Astley Green Colliery (Image: Astley Green Colliery) After meeting with BCSSS members and their families, and listening to their\u00a0solutions and ongoing heartbreak, the MP said that the issue is “deeply personal”\u00a0as many of these members are\u00a0constituents, neighbours and friends.\n<\/p>\n
\n Also speaking with women who worked in the industry who were paid less than their male counterparts,\u00a0and therefore facing retirement without an adequate pension, Ms Platt said that the ex coal workers’\u00a0stories of quiet resilience, pride, and frustration have stayed with her.\n<\/p>\n
\n This is why Ms Platt has joined other\u00a0Labour MPs\u00a0in writing to the Treasury urging Ministers to take action and\u00a0transfer \u00a32.3bn in reserves to BCSSS members.\n<\/p>\n
‘Rightful ownership’<\/p>\n
\n Jo Platt MP added: “I\u2019m grateful that Ministers are actively engaging with BCSSS trustees and taking this matter seriously. The work is already underway and with political will, the Government can now go further and commit to transferring the final \u00a32.3 billion reserve to BCSSS members.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Let\u2019s be clear \u2013 this is not government money, it already forms part of the Scheme\u2019s substantial assets.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The investment reserve comes from member contributions and returns generated by the scheme\u2019s assets. It belongs to the pensioners. Transferring it is not a favour, rather it\u2019s a matter of\u00a0rightful ownership.\n<\/p>\n
\n “This Labour Government has shown its commitment to coalfield communities and has already demonstrated a willingness to right historical wrongs, all of which I fully welcome. Now, it has another opportunity to do so.\n<\/p>\n
\n “As the Labour MP for Leigh and Atherton, a coalfield community, I am committed to keeping this issue on the agenda until we get a fair resolution.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Ahead of the Autumn Budget, I will keep pushing in Parliament, working alongside colleagues, and fighting for the BCSSS members in my constituency.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The Government has the opportunity to do the right thing. It must prioritise this issue, quickly and decisively, so that no miner, widow, or coalfield family feels excluded from the justice they deserve.”\n<\/p>\n
\n If you are a BCSSS member in Leigh or Atherton you can contact Jo Platt’s office\u00a0directly at jo.platt.mp@parliament.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last year, the government announced that the entirety of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme (MPS) would be handed over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":339063,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8817],"tags":[748,393,4884,1620,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-339062","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sheffield","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-sheffield","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115017115498530808","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}