Postal Services Bill

The amendments in this group are either minor or technical—or, indeed, both. However, they make some important improvements to the Bill that I hope all hon. Members will feel able to support. Lords amendments 12 to 14 concern the pensions provisions. Lords amendment 12 is, I must confess, not the easiest technical amendment that hon. Members will have had the pleasure of scrutinising, but I will attempt to explain it as clearly as possible. The amendment concerns the transfer of assets from the Royal Mail pension plan—RMPP—to the Government and is designed to deal with the fact that we expect the assets to transfer in two tranches. An estimated amount of the assets will transfer when Government takes on the historical liabilities of the RMPP. However, there will be a time lag between this point and the point when the necessary actuarial valuations are finalised. We will need a second transfer to take place when the scheme valuation has been completed: a corrective, or ““mop-up””, transfer. The amendment ensures that this two-stage transfer is possible and that any adjustments applied to the second transfer are disregarded so that the funding level test to protect RMPP funding levels works as intended. This funding level test, assessed at the effective date of the transfers, should not be affected by any market movement in the assets that transfer later. In supporting Lords amendment 12, I would like to be clear on one broader point. The Bill provides a safeguard in clause 21 so that the ratio of assets to liabilities in the RMPP must be no worse after assets transfer to the Government than before. However, we intend to go beyond that minimum and leave the RMPP fully funded after transfer, subject to state aid approval. Lords amendment 13 will put in place a legal framework for the sharing of information between the new public scheme, the trustees of the Royal Mail pension plan and relevant employers. In her evidence to the Public Bill Committee, the chair of the Royal Mail pension plan trustees, Jane Newell, stressed the importance of ensuring a seamless service for pension plan members who will find themselves with accrued rights in two schemes, rather than one. That is exactly what Lords amendment 13 seeks to do. It will, for example, facilitate the provision to members of a single benefit statement, rather than two. Lords amendment 14, which is the final amendment to the pensions provisions, will simply allow secondary legislation made under the pensions provisions to be commenced on a day specified by the Secretary of State through a commencement order. That might be necessary to synchronise the various elements of the pensions solution. Lords amendments 23 and 27 will give effect to the recommendations of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee in the other place. The Government listen carefully to the views of that wise and respected Committee, as is reflected by the fact that we have accepted the two recommendations of its report on the Bill. Lords amendment 23 concerns the appeals regime in part 3. Clause 58 allows the Secretary of State to apply, with or without modifications, certain provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 to appeals made under the Bill. The Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee recommended that the provision be modified to prevent it from being broad enough to allow increases in civil or criminal penalties beyond the levels set out in the Enterprise Act 2002. Lords amendment 23 will do just that. The second recommendation of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee concerns the Secretary of State's power to amend Ofcom's universal postal service order in a special administration scenario. Although the Committee accepted the need for that power and recognised that it would apply only in very limited circumstances, it recommended that the power be subject to the negative procedure. Lords amendment 27 will give effect to that recommendation. Lords amendment 24 simply clarifies that directions made by the Secretary of State under part 3 must be in writing, and may be varied or revoked by a further direction. Lords amendment 26 will remove a reference to that procedure in clause 60 as it will be superseded by Lords amendment 24. Finally, Lords amendment 28 is a consequence of this year's referendum on the powers of the Welsh Assembly. The Bill sought to make a consequential amendment to schedule 5 to the Government of Wales Act 2006. However, the yes vote in the referendum resulted in that schedule ceasing to have effect. Lords amendment 28 simply deletes what is now a redundant reference in the Bill. As I said, the amendments are technical and perhaps not of the most interest to the House. However, I hope hon. Members agree that they represent small but important improvements to the Bill and feel able to support them.