Pensions Bill

moved Amendment No. 75: 75: Before Clause 123, insert the following new Clause— ““Parliamentary pension scheme member-nominated trustees (1) After section 241 of the Pensions Act 2004 (c. 35) (requirement for member-nominated trustees) insert— ““241A Parliamentary pension scheme: member-nominated trustees (1) This section applies to a scheme which is set up under section 2 of the Parliamentary and other Pensions Act 1987 (power to provide for pensions for Members of the House of Commons etc). (2) The requirements of section 241 shall apply to the trustees of such a scheme subject to the following modifications. (3) Section 241(2) shall be read as if for paragraph (b) there were substituted— ““(b) are selected as a result of a ballot in which all the eligible scheme members are given the opportunity to vote.”””” (2) Regulation 2(i) of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Member-nominated Trustees and Directors) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/714) is revoked.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, I will be brief as I believe that the proposed new clause will give the Minister the opportunity to say where government thinking has progressed on this point. As I explained in Committee, my aim is basically to bring into line the rules on trustees of the parliamentary pension scheme with those that apply to other contributory schemes, particularly in the election of those trustees. As this Bill and other pensions measures show, we are very eager to set down requirements for occupational schemes generally, but when it comes to the parliamentary pension scheme—of which, to declare an interest, I am a member—there is a statutory exclusion from those requirements. The prime example is in the election of some trustees. My amendment would mean that at least a third of the trustees were elected—as is the case outside—rather than appointed, as is the case at present. Currently, eight out of 10 trustees of the parliamentary scheme are serving MPs, appointed by the Whips. One is a Member of this House but he is appointed; recently one member has been nominated by the association representing former MPs but, again, he is appointed. The proposed new clause is not an attack on those appointed members; even less is it an attack on Sir John Butterfill, the chairman of the pension trustees, who has carried out some very valuable work trying to modernise the governance arrangements of the fund. But the fact remains that all the trustees are appointed, which is an unsatisfactory position. It is, and was, unsatisfactory for other occupational schemes and it is unsatisfactory here. In my view, contributing members to the scheme and retirement members should both have the right to elect some of the trustees—in my view, about a third. In Committee, the Minister responded helpfully to this case and suggested that I meet with the Leader of the House of Commons. I received an encouraging reply from Harriet Harman, and earlier this month I met with her then deputy, Helen Goodman. Again, that meeting was encouraging and useful. Among the points that have now become clearer are that, first, the parliamentary fund could move to a position of elected trustees without the need for legislation at all. The legislation does not exclude the possibility of making such a change. Obviously, I would like the Minister to confirm on the Floor of this House that that is the position. Secondly, one possible model would be to have two sets of elections. A college, made up of contributing MPs and Members of this House, would elect one part, while a college made up of retired MPs and Peers would make up the other. Again, I would like the Minister to confirm that such an arrangement would be possible. Thirdly, and most importantly, my impression is that the Government are sympathetic to this principle. All the words so far uttered and all the correspondence that I have had leads to that conclusion. In other words, they see the advantage and justice of having elected trustees. Obviously, I would like the Minister to confirm that and what they intend to do about it. I very much hope that we can settle this in agreement. It is difficult to argue that all-appointed trustees are necessary for the parliamentary pension fund but not for any other scheme in the country. It would be ironic if this obvious extension of democracy were rejected for, of all schemes, the parliamentary scheme. Frankly— and I have précised my case because of the remarks I made in Committee—the ball is now in the Minister’s court, and I wait to hear how he replies. I beg to move.