British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme

Debate between Sarah Jones and Ian Lavery

Wednesday 11th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

We are certainly moving as fast as we can. I will explain where the process has got to, and I hope that Members will be reassured.

The transfer of £1.5 billion from the mineworkers’ pension boosted pensions by 32%, which was an average increase of £29 a week for each member. The hon. Member for Ashfield made the point that this is about putting money not just into people’s pockets but into local communities, and that is incredibly important. I also understand that in the context of the BCSSS in exactly the same way. My officials are working closely with the trustees of the mineworkers’ pension on the review of the future surplus sharing arrangements, and we hope to come forward with proposals and reach an agreement on that soon. Having worked closely with the coalfield communities on the delivery of the mineworkers’ pension, I completely recognise the strength of feeling on the BCSSS.

[Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)]

I want to place on record my sincere thanks on behalf of my constituents and the people who work in the mining industry across the country for the fantastic work the Minister is doing in relation to the finances in the mineworkers’ pension scheme. Might she be able to inform the House what the main differences are between the MPS receiving the money and the challenges with regard to the BCSSS?

[Sarah Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for his kind words, and I will do exactly that and set out what the challenges and the differences are.

Having a process of work ongoing with the mineworkers’ scheme and working out how we will do surplus sharing, we are now working on the BCSSS and what we do in that space, even though it was not a manifesto commitment. I wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in February and secured his agreement to undertake a similar review of the BCSSS, and that review is now well under way. The schemes are not identical. They are different, and the main difference is that there are currently no surplus sharing arrangements in the BCSSS. That is because they were removed in 2015 following two deficit valuations.

The situation at that time meant that members were unlikely to realise any increases to their pensions for a decade or more, and the Government risked having to find new money to fund pensions. Changes were therefore made, and an agreement was reached with the then Government that bonus pension increases would be paid for three years and that the scheme would invest so as to ensure that pensions could be paid, with the aim of returning the reserve to the Government in 2033. That is the main difference.

I met the BCSSS trustees, to whom I am grateful. We are working well together and will continue to do so. I first met them in April, during which I shared my determination to move at pace—that is a Government saying, isn’t it? But we will genuinely move as fast as we can on the review and to start that process for the Government and trustees, and we jointly commissioned analysis from the Government Actuary to inform our decision making.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Jones and Ian Lavery

Thursday 30th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)]

T7. This week saw DeepSeek throw the global tech market into utter meltdown, with the Chinese AI app spooking investors, to say the least. With huge national infra- structure projects required to underpin the UK’s place in the AI revolution, what does this turmoil mean for projects such as the Blackstone AI data centre in Cambois in Bedlingtonshire, in my constituency?

[Sarah Jones]

My hon. Friend and I have previously talked about this great opportunity. The rapid development and breakthrough of new AI models such as DeepSeek tell us that we need to go further and faster to remove barriers to innovation and make Britain the most competitive market. We need to be developing the technology ourselves. That is why we have set out our new AI strategy and why we are scaling up our capacity, creating AI growth zones and putting in place every vehicle we can to support the growth of technology innovation in our country, because we will need it in future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Jones and Ian Lavery

Tuesday 17th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)]

The Lynemouth biomass power station in my constituency has some very ambitious and exciting projects involving carbon capture and storage, but it is waiting for some major decisions by the Department. Will the Minister agree to meet me so that we can tackle these pressing outstanding issues?

[Sarah Jones]

I would be absolutely delighted to meet my hon. Friend; we can talk about data centres at the same time. Carbon capture is an incredibly important part of our future. We know that we have to have it in order to decarbonise some of our very hard-to-decarbonise industries, and I would be delighted to talk about the possible jobs that it could bring as well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Jones and Ian Lavery

Thursday 31st October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)]

T5. I warmly welcome the £10 billion investment in a data centre in Cambois in my constituency, but I share the concerns of many residents who believe that it is fast becoming a plug-in centre for huge infrastructure programmes. Does my hon. Friend agree that when we have huge infrastructure programmes in certain constituencies, residents should benefit from local jobs and community facilities?

[Sarah Jones]

I agree with my hon. Friend. It is essential that local communities see the benefits of landmark investments. I am pleased that Blackstone is investing £110 million in a fund to support local skills training and transport infrastructure. I am happy to have a conversation with my hon. Friend about what more can be done.