Budget Resolutions

Debate between Gerald Jones and Melanie Ward

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Gerald Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend and could not agree more. All I can say is, we see that every day in our constituencies, so they must be walking around with their eyes closed and their ears shut. Action needed to be taken, and I am so glad that this Labour Government have taken that action. In addition, freezing fuel duty, increasing the minimum wage and the living wage and increasing pensions by 4.8% in April will help reduce the pressures on many of my constituents.

Over many months, I have been working with dozens of my constituents and the coalfield group of MPs to make the case for changes to the British Coal staff superannuation scheme. The £2.3 billion transferred back to the pension pot will mean about £100 a week for around 376 BCSSS members in Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare, building on the decision in last year’s Budget to right a similar injustice with the mineworkers’ pension fund. Mineworkers powered our country and many Welsh communities for decades. I am proud that this Labour Government are doing right by them.

[Melanie Ward]

On the BCSSS move, will my hon. Friend join me in recognising the 290 people in my constituency who will benefit and in paying tribute to Billy Ogg from Kingseat in my constituency who has done so much work campaigning for the change alongside many other former coal board staff?

[Gerald Jones]

I join my hon. Friend in congratulating her constituent. So many people in our constituencies have wanted this and worked hard for it, and it will make such a difference to them in their lives and for their prosperity. I absolutely welcome the decision.

Fuel prices in some parts of my constituency are often 10p per litre higher than in other parts—in some cases even within the same chain. For example, fuel at Asda in Merthyr Tydfil is often 7p to 10p per litre dearer than at Asda in Aberdare, which is bizarre, and it is not the only company that does that. I wrote to the suppliers asking for an explanation, and when those explanations were not satisfactory I wrote to the Competition and Markets Authority urging it to undertake a local inquiry. Continuing to freeze fuel duty will help, and I am pleased that the new fuel finder will be implemented shortly to bring additional pressure to bear on suppliers to keep prices competitive.

Thanks to the Government’s Pride in Place initiative, both Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf local authorities will each receive £21.5 million, which will be spent on priorities identified by local residents. I am so pleased that we are moving towards doing things with communities rather than to communities. Empowering local residents is so much more beneficial to our local areas.

For many years, as touched on earlier, coal extraction built wealth right across the UK—it powered the Welsh and the UK economy for decades—but the previous UK Conservative Government failed to support any costs associated with the remediation of coal tips owing to that being a devolved area. This Labour Government recognise that the legacy of coal and coal tip safety is very much a shared responsibility. I welcome the £25 million that the Government provided in their first Labour Budget last year along with, building over three years, a further £118 million to support the vital work to keep our coal tips safe. That represents all the funding that the Welsh Government requested for safety works for the rest of this Parliament.

With a significant number of category D tips across Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf, that investment is hugely important for my constituents. This is a Government determined to act where Tory inaction left communities unsafe. The funding announcement, along with significant investment from the Welsh Government, shows the impact of two Labour Governments working together for Wales after years of Tory failure.

After years of the previous Conservative Government starving Wales of resources, I am pleased that the Government are building on the biggest settlement to Wales since devolution, with the Budget providing an additional £1 billion of spending power to the Welsh Government through the Barnett formula and by reforming the fiscal framework. That funding will help the Welsh NHS and public services across Wales, and benefit my constituents in Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare.

There is much more I that could say on artificial intelligence growth, the local growth fund, defence sector deals and the youth guarantee. The Budget will help so many in my constituency—families, young people and pensioners—and I urge hon. Members to support it this evening.