Pension Schemes (Conversion of Guaranteed Minimum Pensions) Bill

Baroness Scott of Bybrook Excerpts

3rd reading
Wednesday 27th April 2022 Lords Chamber

I am sorry to have missed the earlier stages because of Covid, but I am very grateful to my noble friend Lady Merron, who did such a marvellous job in my place. There are a couple of outstanding issues, such as the position of pension schemes already in the Pension Protection Fund, raised by my noble friend Lady Drake, and the concerns raised by the Delegated Powers Committee, to which Ministers were only able to respond yesterday. However, we do not wish to hold up the Bill, so we will take these offline and hope to deal with them with the Minister before regulation. The key thing is that we are finally about to pass a Bill which the Government are confident will give the necessary legal certainty to schemes seeking to equalise guaranteed minimum pensions. This is good news, and we are pleased to support it.

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My Lords, I must again thank my noble friend Lady Redfern for presenting this Bill so ably today. I am pleased to be to here to give my support, and that of the Government, to the Bill. It is an important step towards schemes finally laying to rest the issue of the unequal effect of guaranteed minimum pensions. I pay tribute to my noble friend for her stewardship of the Bill and to other noble Lords who have contributed their views during its passage through the House.

I pay tribute to the late Lord McKenzie of Luton. I am saddened that he is not here to see this Bill through today, and I know that many others here feel the same way.

It is also right that we acknowledge and thank Members of the other place for their contribution. Margaret Ferrier, the honourable Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, took the Bill through. It is down to her, and to my noble friend Lady Redfern, that we have the Bill in front of us now. I also thank the Members in the other place who contributed to the debates on the Bill. The cross-party support the Bill has achieved in both Houses shows the long-standing commitment of Members to resolve this issue. This Bill will now provide the industry with the legal clarity it has been seeking in relation to GMP conversion legislation. Once again, I thank my noble friend Lady Redfern and express my and the Government’s strong support for the Bill.