House of Commons Members’ Fund Bill

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen Excerpts

Friday 22nd April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Naseby for introducing the Second Reading of this Bill today. As noble Lords have heard, calls on the fund have diminished over the years since the introduction of the parliamentary pension scheme. There are, on average, 45 applications each year, and it is discretionary with the trustees whether they are successful. Each year some applications are rejected. Nevertheless, I am sure your Lordships will agree that this fund is an important resource for retired Members and their families should they find themselves in financial hardship.

As my noble friend Lord Naseby stated, the Bill will introduce the required adjustments to the fund’s former outdated legislation but allows trustees to continue to focus on serving the fund’s benevolent purpose. The changes being made are largely technical, aiming to simplify the fund and the associated administrative burden. This will make the fund easier to administer and allow the trustees to spend more time on the fund’s main objective, which is to assist former Members and their dependants in financial need, rather than be burdened by the peculiar legislative requirements, many of which are time consuming and costly, added to which the fund will be independent of Treasury support.

As my noble friend said, other benefits resulting from the legislation are: the cessation of Member contributions while there is a surplus; allowing the trustees to return surplus funds to the Treasury; an amalgamation of various Acts to create one set of governing regulations; the removal of the requirement for all of the trustees to be MPs; and widening the class of beneficiaries who can claim assistance.

The noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, made three points. I can confirm that appointments of trustees is done via the usual channels. Secondly, she said that it was important for people to be able to see where the money is spent. Audited accounts are publicly available annually. Her last point about trustees’ terms being time limited is important, particularly nowadays, and that will certainly be discussed as the Bill goes forward.

In summary, this is a vital step forward for the fund and its trustees. It is envisaged that the fund’s legislation will be fit for purpose for the foreseeable future, meet the modern-day demands of the fund and continue to assist those former Members and their families most in need.