(11 years ago)
Lords ChamberRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
“(c) the Defence Fire and Rescue Service”
Commons disagreement and reason
The Commons disagree to Lords Amendment No. 78 for the following Reason—
Lords non-insistence and amendment in lieu
The Lords do not insist on their Amendment 78, but do propose Amendment 78B in lieu.
“Defence Fire and Rescue Service and Ministry of Defence Police Capability Review
(1) The Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Secretary of State for Defence, will, within six months of this Act coming into force, prepare and lay before both Houses of Parliament a report setting out the Government’s assessment of the impacts of this Act on current and future members of the Defence Fire and Rescue Service and current and future members of the Ministry of Defence Police nominated under section 1 of the Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987.
(2) A report under subsection (1) will include, but not be limited to, consideration of the following —
the impacts on the health and wellbeing of members of the Defence Fire and Rescue Service and members of the Ministry of Defence Police nominated under section 1 of the Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987;
the ability of the Defence Fire and Rescue Service and members of the Ministry of Defence Police nominated under section 1 of the Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987 to meet the Ministry of Defence’s statements of requirement of these personnel;
the number of members of the Defence Fire and Rescue Service and members of the Ministry of Defence Police nominated under section 1 of the Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987 taking early retirement, the consequences of early retirement for those members and the costs to the taxpayer of such members taking early retirement.”
Commons disagreement and amendment in lieu
The Commons disagree to Lords Amendment No. 78B, but do propose Amendment 78C in lieu.
“Defence Fire and Rescue Service and Ministry of Defence Police: review
(1) The Secretary of State must, before the end of the period of six months beginning with the day on which section 9 (pension age) comes into force, prepare and lay before Parliament a report on the likely effect of that section on members or future members of
the Defence Fire and Rescue Service, and
the Ministry of Defence Police.
(2) The report under this section must include a report on —
the likely effect of section 9 on the health and well-being of members of the Defence Fire and Rescue Service and the Ministry of Defence Police,
the likely effect of section 9 on the ability of the Defence Fire and Rescue Service and Ministry of Defence Police to continue to meet operational requirements, and
the extent to which members of the Defence Fire and Rescue Service and Ministry of Defence Police are likely to take early retirement in consequence of section 9 (and on the consequences of taking early retirement for the persons taking it and for the taxpayer).
(3) In this section “Defence Fire and Rescue Service” means the fire service maintained by the Secretary of State for Defence.”
Lord Newby
That this House do not insist on its Amendment 78B and do agree to Amendment 78C proposed by the Commons in lieu of that amendment.
Lord Newby
My Lords, as the House is aware, the Government accepted on Monday the substance of the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Eatwell. I said we would make some small, technical changes to ensure that it works as intended. The government Motion before us makes all those necessary tweaks, while upholding the principles of the policy in full.
I briefly explain the reasons why the tweaks were necessary. The Government’s redrafted Motion seeks to address some inadvertent consequences that could arise from accepting the amendment that the House approved as it stood on Monday. First, the names of the workforces were not quite right. We have corrected this to ensure they are consistent with other statutory references to these groups of public servants. Secondly, there was the potential for confusion about the role of the Secretary of State for Defence, who is included in the general term Secretary of State. The noble Lord’s amendment implied that he would carry out any review of the terms and conditions of these workforces in conjunction with himself. That has now been corrected. I suspect that the original wording sought to ensure that the Treasury and the MoD worked together on the review; I can confirm that that is the intention.
Finally, there is the issue of commencement—the timeframe for when the Motion would come into force. The amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Eatwell, would have started the clock only after the entire Bill came into force, which would delay the review considerably. Instead, the Government’s Motion creates a specific deadline linked to the relevant clause of the Bill, a timescale which has been further clarified by the Economic Secretary in another place. I am also happy to confirm to noble Lords that the Government will commence the relevant sections promptly to ensure that the review takes place without further delay with a view to concluding and reporting within eight months.
My colleague the Economic Secretary has already committed in the other place that the Government will not be blind to the context in which the review will take place. The review of pension arrangements will take account of the wider pay and remuneration package of the forces involved.
The Government will now work closely with the relevant interested parties to pursue the appropriate way forward. Workforce representatives are some of the most important and interested parties, and so will be fully involved. I hope that noble Lords will agree that the Government have been very clear in their support for this review. We are now keen to get on with it and to establish the best way forward. On that basis and in this spirit, I urge noble Lords to support the Motion. I beg to move.
Lord Eatwell
My Lords, I am grateful for the corrections which the noble Lord has made to the amendment which I put down yesterday, and for the commitment that the review will be done within eight months. There was another change that he did not cover. The term of art, “statements of requirement”, which refers to the level of physical ability that the fire service and police must attain, was changed to “operational requirements”. What is the significance of that change?
Lord Newby
My Lords, I do not think that there is any significance in the change. As I said earlier, there has been no change of substance in the content of the Motion as it appears before your Lordships’ House from the amendment that the noble Lord moved on Monday, which was accepted by the House. I am 99% certain that that was the case. If I have misled him or the House, I will write immediately to correct it. I can assure the noble Lord that the aim and the intention is simply to have language that is clear, unambiguous and enables us to get on with it. I beg to move.