Hope for retired miners in fight for coal benefit

UK Coal’s collapse into administration earlier this year led to the loss of free coal for life, or a cash payment, for around 1,800 ex-miners and their widows.

Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, Selby MP Nigel Adams described the decision to stop the concessionary coal allowance to miners who retired after the National Coal Board’s privatisation in 1994 as “callous” and said it affected many of his constituents.

He asked Mr Osborne to provide “some comfort to the pensioners who are potentially facing fuel poverty this winter”.

Last month, Mr Adams had led a delegation of Conservative MPs who asked Mr Osborne to intervene.

Responding yesterday, the Chancellor welcomed the campaign, adding that he was looking into the matter personally and hoped to come back with “good news soon”.

Mr Adams said: “I am very grateful to George Osborne for personally promising to do what he can to look into restoring the free coal to hard-pressed pensioners and his promise of ‘good news soon’ is very encouraging.”

UK Coal Operations and UK Coal Mine Holdings went into administration in July. A restructuring saw mining operations moved into a new business, UK Coal Production Ltd.