Pensions Bill

I start by thanking the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, for his amendment. He is absolutely right: we had some discussion of this issue during the passage of the previous Pensions Bill. I do not have a totally shared recollection of the enthusiasm with which we accepted it; my arm is still hurting. I shall come back to changes since then. Before doing so, I turn to Equitable Life, which the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, touched on. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has invited the Government to consider issues raised in her report and to reflect on what their response should be. The Government recognise that the ombudsman’s report raises issues that are of concern to all interested parties. The length and complexity of the report mean that the Government will need to consider it carefully before giving their response to the House of Commons in the autumn. Last year, we were awaiting the Government’s response to the Law Commission’s report on post-legislative scrutiny. In March this year, my right honourable friend the Leader of the House of Commons published a Command Paper setting out our response to this report and establishing a systematic approach for the post-legislative scrutiny of Bills that achieved Royal Assent from 2005 onwards. This has, for the first time, put a system in place that will ensure that post-legislative scrutiny is the norm. Departments will have to publish a memorandum—it should be submitted in the first instance to the relevant committee in the other place but will be available to Parliament as a whole—on the provisions of an Act within three to five years of Royal Assent. This memorandum will allow Parliament to make an informed decision on whether full scrutiny is necessary. We have begun informal discussions with the Clerk of the Work and Pensions Select Committee about the submission of memoranda for the Pensions Act 2007 and for this Bill. Due to the variety of measures in this Bill, it is highly likely that we will need to publish more than one memorandum. For example, the noble Lord’s amendment to the Pensions Act 2007 resulted in a requirement for the Secretary of State to report on the operation of provisions of that Act in 2014. It may be prudent to cover some provisions in the Bill that relate to the 2007 Act, such as simplification of a second state pension, in the same report. However, we may identify measures in the Bill that can be reviewed before 2014. We have already agreed with the Select Committee that the position on contribution limits and transfers in and out of personal accounts will be reviewed in 2017. We will have further discussions, but it may not be sensible to submit a memorandum on the operation of the employer duty provisions before then, not least because the phased implementation of these duties will continue until 2015. We are in a very different position from when we considered the noble Lord’s similar amendment to the Bill of last Session. The Government are now committed to a systematic approach to post-legislative scrutiny that is thorough and proportionate. Alongside existing plans to monitor and evaluate progress, we will ensure that Parliament has adequate opportunities to review all the provisions of the Bill. I hope that this satisfies the noble Lord.