'32 per cent increase to the annual mineworker’s pension'

MP for Clwyd East

This week I was in Parliament to support the UK Government’s Budget, which will fix the foundations of our economy and make the necessary investments for the future.

We know that the economic inheritance left to us meant that difficult decisions have had to be made, but with the announcement of the largest ever settlement in the history of devolution for the Welsh Government, we now have two governments working together to deliver for people here in Clwyd East.

In Denbighshire and Flintshire, up to 8,000 of the lowest paid workers will see a pay boost with an increased National Living and Minimum Wage and millions has been committed to making coal tips safer here in Wales. Importantly, it ended the injustice of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.

As someone who grew up in a coalfield community and whose family worked in the pits, I was proud to stand on a manifesto pledge to return the Investment Reserve – over £1bn – to those and need and deserve it, the former miners themselves.

The return of this fund will mean a 32 per cent increase to the annual mineworker’s pension. Paid out as an additional bonus, my constituents and thousands of others will begin to benefit from next month.

This means a huge amount to the nearly 300 former mineworkers, and their families, in Clwyd East.

This week I attended a fraud summit in Westminster, which was an opportunity to engage with the various agencies involved in this area.

Fraud currently accounts for around 40 per cent of all crime in England and Wales and with the increasing levels of sophistication in which these individuals/organisations operate, it’s clear that more needs to be done to tackle this crime.

I have had a number of constituents who have been victims of fraud come forward with cases in recent weeks and I want to do what I can to support their cases, whilst working with the agencies involved in this area to find practicable solutions to the challenges faced.

Finally, it was a pleasure to meet with the latest politics cohort at my old school, the Alun School, Mold. It is always a pleasure to visit schools in Clwyd East and get put through my paces by such enthusiastic and knowledgeable students. I wish them all well in the year ahead.