Pensions Bill

moved Amendment No. 52: 52: Clause 69, page 37, line 42, leave out subsection (5) The noble Baroness said: My Lords, Amendment No. 52 deletes Clause 69(5). In the group of amendments we were debating before the dinner break, we were addressing the specifics of the restrictions and limits which will be placed on contributions to personal accounts. This amendment is rather different. Under subsection (5) the Government have the power to repeal Clause 69 by order, and in so doing the Secretary of State would deprive the Government for all time of the ability to set contribution limits for personal accounts. The Minister teased me in Committee because I normally take the stance that the Secretary of State should have as few powers as possible. I explained that we are concerned that the personal accounts scheme, through its financial muscle, will need to be kept focused on its core market, which is for those with no or inadequate pension savings. We do not want the personal accounts pension scheme to engage in mission creep, which it could easily do. Indeed, the attractions of trading up market, where pension products are already adequately provided by the market, might become irresistible to an organisation with millions of pounds earned in charges to spend on advertising and marketing. We believe that a wise Government would always want to keep powers to keep the scope of the personal accounts scheme properly focused. The proper focus may well change over time and high limits might conceivably be set at some point in the distant future. However, the Government will not control the pension scheme, though they may have some controls over the trustee corporation, so they need to be able to influence key elements of its behaviour. In Committee, the Minister at least said that he would think about the matter further, although I concede that he did not hold out much hope of a change of view. I have tabled the amendment again because he said in Committee that he would try to convince me of the reasonableness of the provision. If the Minister is not able to accept the amendment, I hope that he will explain whether and to what extent the personal accounts scheme will be subject to competition law and could be restrained by the Office of Fair Trading or the Competition Commission if it abused its market position. Clearly, if effective competition regulation applied to the personal accounts scheme, some of the concerns would be ameliorated, but if the competition law aspect were not clear, or if there were a lack of jurisdiction, we would remain concerned. I am always open, as the Minister knows, to being convinced that something is reasonable. I beg to move.