Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will launch a public inquiry to investigate concerns expressed by mineworkers on the then government's influence and role in determining the surplus sharing arrangement for the Mineworkers Pension Scheme.

The Mineworkers Pension Scheme has worked well for all parties and credit must go to the Trustees for their excellent investment strategy and administration of the Scheme. As the Trustees have acknowledged, the Government guarantee has enabled an investment strategy that has resulted in scheme members receiving payments 33% higher than they would have been had they received only their actual earned pension up to privatisation. I do not therefore agree that a public enquiry is needed.