Pensions Bill

moved Amendment No. 23: 23: Schedule 6, page 68, line 28, leave out sub-paragraph (3) and insert— ““(3) During any vacancy in the office of chairman, or at any time when the chairman is absent or otherwise unable to act, any of his functions may be discharged by the deputy chairman. ( ) In discharging any function of the chairman under sub-paragraph (3), the deputy chairman must have regard to any guidance given by the chairman as to the discharge of that function by the deputy chairman.”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, government Amendment No. 23 relates to provisions for the deputy chairman of the delivery authority. In our earlier debates, the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, questioned the provision that enabled the Secretary of State and the chairman to give directions to the deputy chairman about the discharge of the chairman’s duties. It is not our intention to enable the Secretary of State to interfere in, or indeed micromanage, the work of the authority. Rather, the provisions are included as a helpful measure to ensure that the deputy chairman can discharge the functions of the chairman in appropriate cases to ensure the smooth running of the authority. It was envisaged that this may be helpful if, for example, the chairman was incapacitated for some time due to ill health. We have considered carefully the concerns of the noble Baroness. I agree with her that these provisions appear a little heavy-handed and could imply that the independence of the delivery authority would be compromised. I wish to reassure her that this was not our intention, so the government amendment removes the ability of the Secretary of State or the chairman to issue directions to the deputy chairman. Instead, provision is made for the deputy chairman to undertake the duties of the chairman only when the chairman be unable to do so, such as when he is on holiday or unwell. We have also added a provision that gives the chairman a discretionary power to issue guidance to the deputy on how the functions should be exercised. The deputy can discharge functions whether or not guidance is issued, but he must have regard to any guidance that has been issued when deciding how to discharge those functions. Any guidance issued by the chairman is to have no effect on whether the deputy can discharge the functions. When the chairman is unable to discharge the functions, the deputy is to be entitled to discharge any of the chairman’s functions. I hope that the noble Baroness will be able to support the amendment and I beg to move.