News Release

12th March 2004

FORMER MINERS SNUBBED BY GOVERNMENT

Following Michael Fabricant's meeting on 30th January with former miners from the Cannock coal fields now living in his constituency and concerned about a Government raid on their pension funds, Michael promised to ask whether a DTI minister would meet with them down in London. This has just been refused outright.

Michael wrote to the minister in early February requesting a meeting in London so that he could hear the miners' views. Unusually, after 4 weeks no reply was received from the minister. So Michael then tabled a formal Parliamentary Written Question:

"To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she or one of her Ministers will meet ex-miners from the Lichfield constituency in London to discuss current arrangements for miners' pension funds in the next four months."

This forced a reply from ministers. He has now received this Written Parliamentary Answer which appears in Hansard today:

Mr. Timms: "Issues relating to the current arrangements for the miners' pension funds are matters for the Schemes' Trustees."

Michael Fabricant now says: "The answer is 'No. We won't see the ex-miners'. I am frankly astonished at the arrogance of ministers who cannot spare 30 minutes of their time to listen to a group of ex-miners who would have travelled down to London to see him and who are concerned about the future of their pensions. Their pension fund is currently being raided by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to fill a gaping hole in his budget. Currently, several hundred million pounds each year are being siphoned off. Has New Labour lost touch with its roots so quickly?", Michael asks.

Meanwhile, the National Audit Office is investigating the matter after Michael Fabricant placed the miners' files in the hands of the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.