Pensions Bill

My Lords, I am not sure that I have a complete answer to the noble Lord’s amendment, but I will have a go with what I have and follow up if necessary. I start by reminding noble Lords that there are already several mechanisms in place for disclosing information in the public interest. For example, Section 89 of the 2004 Act gives the regulator the power to publish reports of its consideration of any particular matter where it considers it appropriate to do so. The public interest is one of the factors that the regulator bears in mind when deciding whether publication is appropriate. The form, manner and timing of that report are matters for the regulator. In carrying out its functions, the regulator is the recipient of a considerable amount of sensitive information, much of it commercial in nature and provided in confidence. The noble Lord’s amendment would allow the regulator to disclose restricted information that it deemed in the public interest, having had, "““regard to the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of any person””." This would clearly lend itself to a wide interpretation and views on how it should be read would differ considerably. As a result, the regulator could be placed under pressure to disclose restricted information where it was inappropriate or premature to do so. It would be very difficult for the regulator to carry out its functions if providers of information could not be certain that the information would not be made public. Stakeholders would become reluctant to disclose commercial information in confidence to the regulator. That is a particularly valid concern where the regulator is involved in an ongoing investigation or considering a particular transaction. I believe that it is sensible to allow the regulator to conduct its business free of such pressures and to leave it to report at the appropriate time, which, in most cases, would be at the conclusion of its investigations. On the specific case, GP Noble is, as noble Lords will be aware, a firm of independent trustees that is currently under investigation by the regulator and the Serious Fraud Office, among others. I will endeavour to be as helpful as I can on this, although I am sure that the noble Lord will appreciate that I would not wish to prejudice the outcome of those investigations. On 18 August this year, Professional Pensions magazine published a news story revealing that the Pensions Regulator had appointed Independent Trustee Services Limited as trustee to 29 schemes for which GP Noble had previously been the trustee. The article included details that were not previously in the public domain and that the regulator considered to be ““restricted information”” under Section 82 of the Pensions Act 2004. Under that section, it is an offence for the regulator or for anyone who has obtained restricted information directly or indirectly from the regulator to disclose it other than in the circumstances set out in the Act. On 22 August, the Serious Fraud Office confirmed that it had arrested three men as part of an ongoing investigation into GP Noble. I believe that this highlights the importance of handling such sensitive data appropriately and that it is right and proper that personal and confidential information held by the regulator should be protected carefully. As I said, I believe that it is sensible to allow the regulator to conduct its business free of the pressures that the amendment could impose and to leave it to report at the appropriate time. I hope that that explanation is sufficient for the noble Lord. If he thinks that I could provide further information, I should be happy to try to do so.