Oral Answers to Questions

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Monday 11th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

I think the hon. Lady should raise issues about training in Scotland with the Scottish Government, who are responsible for it. They will not allow people on the Work programme to go on Scottish Government-funded courses, and I suspect that that is where the problem lies.

[Grahame M. Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

2. What steps he is taking to tackle the increased use of pension liberation schemes.

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Steve Webb)]

We take the issue of so-called pension liberation very seriously. The Pensions Regulator is currently investigating 21 cases, and scheme assets worth over £50 million have been protected as a result of regulatory action.

[Grahame M. Morris]

Many pension liberation schemes are skimming off thousands of pounds in charges and commissions, and leaving customers exposed to punitive tax penalties. In the wake of mis-selling scandals such as that involving payment protection insurance, what action is the Minister taking to ensure that future pensioners are protected?

[Steve Webb]

The hon. Gentleman is right. When people transfer money from a pension, they must fill in transfer forms. We have established a “scorpion sting in the tail” information campaign, producing very eye-catching literature which people wishing to transfer their money receive before signing on the dotted line. It is a “buyer beware” measure, and is one of a suite of measures that we are taking to crack down on such fraud.