Draft Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) Regulations 2017 Draft Judicial Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2017 Draft Judicial Pensions (Additional Voluntary Contributions) Regulations 2017

Lord Vaizey of Didcot Excerpts

Monday 27th March 2017 General Committees

[Mr Edward Vaizey (Wantage) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Bailey, and to speak in this important Committee addressing judicial pensions amendment regulations. I want to put a few questions to the Minister, which I hope he will be able to clarify.

I note from the explanatory memorandum—obviously I had time over the weekend to go over the statutory instruments in detail, but the explanatory memorandum is probably the best thing to refer to—that at the moment the legislation is not compatible with the European convention on human rights, until the appeal McCloud v. Ministry of Justice is heard. I understand the Government’s desire to bring these regulations into being swiftly, so that we are not in a position where fee-paid judicial officeholders are at a disadvantage or are receiving unlawful pensions, but will the Minister assure us that we will not be back here again, further amending the regulations, to take into account the outcome of the appeal? Can the Minister shed some light on the debate that must have happened in the Ministry of Justice about whether this was the right moment to bring forward these important regulations?

I note with some concern that the regulations were passed only in 2015 and yet here we are, less than 18 months later, debating amendments. I am pleased, though, that the matter is being dealt with rapidly. Those of us who represent constituents who have lost out through Government pension schemes might raise an eyebrow at the fact that legislation can be introduced so rapidly to right a wrong. I represent pensioners who had worked for the Atomic Energy Authority who were stiffed out of their pensions when they were transferred to the Atomic Energy Authority Technology company. They were assured by the Government Actuary that their pensions would be no worse off than those they would have received had they remained in the public sector, so they transferred to the private sector, and now AEA Technology has gone bust and their pensions have been reduced. It has been almost impossible to get the Government to address that important issue, but I am pleased that they are very keen to do so when it comes to judges.

Can the Minister shed light on the Scottish Government’s position? I notice that they have asked that their judges be included in the scheme, rather than a separate pension scheme. There is a vigorous debate at the moment about a possible second referendum on Scottish independence, so will the Minister shed some light on what will happen to the pension scheme should Scotland become independent? How complicated will it be to separate the two pension schemes?

Finally, I note that there is no scheme for the forfeiture of a judge’s pension, because apparently that would infringe on judicial independence. I cannot help thinking that judges have got a clever point into these regulations. I do not know whether there is a provision for the forfeiture of a Member of Parliament’s pension, or whether we are immune from forfeiture in order to protect our independence. Will the Minister shed some light on what is meant by the phrase “judicial independence” in the explanatory memorandum? If a judge—they are only human—were to commit a heinous crime while sitting as a judge, would we have no redress against them, in terms of forfeiting their pension, even though the full force of the law would be brought to bear? Those important points require some explanation from the Minister, and I look forward to hearing his response.

draft Public Guardian (Fees, etc.) (Amendment) regulations 2017

Lord Vaizey of Didcot Excerpts

Tuesday 21st March 2017 General Committees

[Mr Edward Vaizey (Wantage) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to appear under your chairmanship, Mr Flello, to debate these important regulations. The Office of the Public Guardian plays an important role in our society, and to my mind the need for people to take out lasting powers of attorney is good housekeeping, particularly as we have an ageing population. All families should look to ensure they have lasting power of attorney in place, should—heaven forbid—their loved ones become incapacitated in the future.

I welcome the fact that the Government are reducing the fees. Those of us who sat through the Budget and supported it heart and soul were still a little disconcerted by some of its measures such as the increase in probate fees, which will affect millions of people. I wonder whether the Minister has any reflections on why the Government have decided to reduce fees for this important matter, which affects many millions of people, while increasing them significantly for probate. I note that the regulations are due to come in on 1 April, but I think it is normal in such circumstances to have a period of 21 days between Parliament passing such a regulation and the fees coming into force, so will he enlighten us on why Parliament has been given such a short time to debate this important measure?

I wonder whether the Minister could widen his remarks, perhaps beyond the strict terms of the statutory instrument, and comment on the reason why so many more people are taking out lasting power of attorney. Is it anything to do with the Government Digital Service, the excellent service that the previous Government empowered? I think I am right in saying that lasting power of attorney is one of its most used services. For those of us who like to take part in pub quizzes, I was told that its least used service is for applications to be buried at sea—apparently, there are a dozen such applications a year. I will not ask the Minister to comment on the number of applications to be buried at sea, but I would like his reflections on whether the Government Digital Service has contributed to more people taking out lasting power of attorney.

It is now easy to take out lasting power of attorney digitally, but what measures are the Government taking to publicise it? Members who have listened carefully to my speech will have heard my opening remarks about how this is an important part of family housekeeping. I have never seen an advert on, say, the tube or a bus about lasting power of attorney. I wonder whether the Minister has any plans to publicise it further and wider.

I noticed that the Government explain in the explanatory memorandum that, even though the fees are being reduced, they will cover the cost of administering the lasting power of attorney, but I did not hear in the Minister’s remarks or see in the explanatory memorandum—I am sure that is entirely my fault—the overall cost to the Exchequer.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Lee]

Yes, there is a practical approach, but in those situations, other family members are often aware of such a directive and can access the website, but I am happy to look at further details.

[Mr Vaizey]

In my previous role as Minister for telecommunications, I was aware of how Government policy could have an impact on nuisance calls. Have the Government evaluated whether alerting people to the need to get a refund might encourage spurious companies to be set up to encourage people, by cold calling the vulnerable, to make such claims?

[Dr Lee]

My right hon. Friend makes a decent point. I take note of it and will pass it on to the relevant officials to ensure that such abuse does not ensue.

On timing and the 21 days, I was made aware of the issue shortly after becoming a Minister and we have been working extremely hard on finding the best way of putting in place a system for refunding when necessary. We have acted swiftly and I am not sure that the point about the 21 days is particularly relevant. The statutory instrument will come into force on 1 April, which means that it is unlikely that there will be 21 days between its making and coming into force. It is important for the lower fee to be brought into force as quickly as possible. In addition, the Department does not consider that the regulations significantly diminish rights, impose significantly more onerous new duties or require the adoption of different patterns of behaviour.

Clearly, there has been a rather basic error in the long-term projection analysis of demand in an ageing society. The accounting officer has reassured me that the forecasting model has been properly reviewed. Indeed, from now on, there will be an annual review of all the figures. The issue has arisen every year for four to five years and I have been reassured that that will not be the case in future.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Wantage and the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston are right that communicating the change is important. We will do our very best to ensure that everyone knows that this has happened and that they can seek a refund when appropriate.

We have had an interesting debate. I thank members of the Committee for the points that have been made. The changes that the regulations introduce will bring about a welcome reduction in the fee for registering a power of attorney. I am sure we all agree that that is an important tool, of which we would encourage people to take advantage, while balancing that with the need to fund the important functions of the Public Guardian. I hope that the Committee will support the regulations.

Question put and agreed to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Vaizey of Didcot Excerpts

Tuesday 6th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I confirm that books are freely available in prison.

[Mr Edward Vaizey (Wantage) (Con)]

I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend to her position. I was delighted to hear the new Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport talking about the importance of the arts in prisons. I hope that my right hon. Friend will recognise how the arts can bring prisoners to literacy and teach them a huge range of skills. I hope she will meet the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance at the earliest opportunity to discuss what the arts can do, particularly in respect of literacy.

[Elizabeth Truss]

May I say what a fantastic job my right hon. Friend has done in championing the arts in every part of our country? His legacy lives on, and it will live on in our prisons.