Prison Officers: Occupational Pension

Debate between Lord Stewart of Dirleton and Lord Davies of Brixton

Thursday 16th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her clarification of the point, which perhaps was obvious to your Lordships at the outset. As I understand it, it will be a matter of occupational health assessment. I will clarify that position and write to the noble Baroness, as she requests.

[Lord Davies of Brixton (Lab)]

My Lords, this change, this diminution of the pension rights of prison officers, was one of the impacts of the Hutton review, which affected all public service employees in different ways—including significant cutbacks. Recently, the Pensions Minister suggested that the Government were seeking to make public service pensions even worse. This may have been freelancing on behalf of the Pensions Minister, and maybe this is outside the noble Lord’s brief, but was this a serious proposition? When will the Government make it plain what their policy is in relation to public service pensions?

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Lord anticipated that this would lie outwith my brief. I regret to say that I am not in possession of the terms of the statement to which the noble Lord referred by the Prisons Minister in the other place—

[Lord Davies of Brixton (Lab)]

The Pensions Minister.

[Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Con)]

The Pensions Minister —in that case, my information is even further away from what the noble Lord asked, so I will, with his leave, have to revert to him on that point in writing.