Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill [Lords]

Zarah Sultana Excerpts

Report stage
Tuesday 22nd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

This is an important Bill, but Liberal Democrats believe there are still several serious concerns that need addressing. More support is needed for individuals in making decisions; perhaps a helpline would be useful. There are implications for women—the pensions gap. There is also the potential negative impact on diversity in the judiciary, which is currently dominated by a generation of older white men.

I will focus on Liberal Democrat new clauses 4, 5 and 6, but first let me say that the Liberal Democrats will not be supporting new clause 1, tabled by the right hon. Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick). That is nothing to do with BDS; it is because the wider implications and unintended consequences could be significant in cases such as Xinjiang, where we believe a genocide is taking place. That is not Government policy, so what would the Government direction be in that case? Our concern is the wider implications and unintended consequences.

New clause 4 would require the Government to review the impact of the Bill on fairness. It calls a review of fairness and just treatment, particularly with regard to members of current schemes. It is important to ensure that members of current schemes are not caught in the pensions trap. Women are more likely than men to have taken time off work for caring responsibilities. Under some of the new schemes, which are based on age, they will have to work longer. The issue of gender in pensions is not new, and this would not be the first time the House made a misstep.

The gender pension gap is the percentage difference in pension income between female and male pensioners. The latest research showed that it had increased to 37.9%; we must be aware of that. The deficit will continue, so the amendment seeks to highlight the importance of this issue and the need for urgent measures to address it.

New clause 5 is about access to information and would require the Government to publish guidance to members of affected pension schemes and allow for provision of a helpline or online services to offer further assistance in important decisions for people’s futures. It is important that we think of the Bill in terms of individuals—the people whom it will affect—and their futures, what guidance and support will be provided to each person, how that will be resourced and how the Government will signpost that. That is key. We have seen with pensions for women born in the 1950s that when decisions and timings were not signposted, that had a massive impact on them when they found that their pension age had changed. We must not do that again—and we still have not rectified the first mistake. The Government have already accepted that people with complex tax issues can have financial advice. The same should be the case for millions of public sector workers who will have to make such choices, so the Government should put a helpline in place for that.

New clause 6, would require the Government to publish an annual update on progress in recruiting new members to the judiciary and on increasing diversity. It is important that our senior judges in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court reflect the society in which we live if they are to be respected. They must be seen as part of the current era, to reflect society’s trends and understand those trends, but there is perhaps a perception that they do not, and we are all concerned about that.

Although the proportion of judges who are women continues to increase gradually, women remain under-represented in judicial roles. That is particularly the case in the courts, where 32% of all judges and 26% of those in more senior roles are women, compared with 47% of all judges in tribunals. I am sure we would all like to see those figures addressed. The situation with black, Asian and minority ethnic judges is worse, with the figures being 4% for High Court judges and above compared with 8% of all court judges and 12% of tribunal judges. Surely that is far from acceptable. The new clause would ensure that the Government published an annual update on progress in this important area.

This is an important Bill and it is important that we address the issues in it. However, we must do that properly and ensure that there are not unintended consequences.

[Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab)]

I rise to speak to new clause 1. The year was 1985. After a campaign lasting decades, 123 councils answered the call for solidarity with the South African anti-apartheid movement and adopted policies opposing that injustice, including 39 councils that had divested from companies operating in South Africa and Namibia. While the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was calling the African National Congress and Nelson Mandela terrorists and Young Conservatives were proudly wearing badges calling for him to be hanged, local authorities were on the right side of history, standing up to the horror of apartheid. Of course, the Conservative Government could not tolerate that, so, a few years later, to weaken the anti-apartheid movement, they brought in laws making it illegal for local councils to boycott South African and Namibian goods. Looking back, it is crystal clear who was on the right side of history and who was on the wrong side.

The new clause, in the name of the right hon. Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick), would ban local councils from taking such a stand. Had it been in place back in 1985, because the Conservative Government supported apartheid South Africa—let us not forget that—local councils, no matter the strength of local feeling or the righteousness of the cause, would have been prevented from divesting pension funds from apartheid South Africa. They would have been compelled to be complicit in injustice.

Government Members may argue that that is history and things are different now. I contest that the facts say otherwise. The House knows that British-made weapons and diplomatic support are integral to the Saudi war in Yemen. Even as that war has claimed the lives of more than a quarter of a million people, pushed more than 20 million into absolute destitution and resulted in grave violations of international law, British complicity has continued. The new clause could deny councils the right to divest from arms companies whose bombs rain down on the people of Yemen. Similarly, if a local authority wanted to align its pension fund with international law and divest from companies operating in illegally occupied Palestinian lands, the new clause risks denying it that right, too.

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle]

The Israeli Labor and Meretz parties, our sister parties in Israel, have both written to the leaders of the Labour party and to all of us to say that they want divestment from companies that invest in the occupied territories. Israeli Members of Parliament are asking us to do this. New clause 1 goes against what they are asking us to do, does it not?

[Zarah Sultana]

Yes, it does, and I was proud to stand on a Labour manifesto committed to that policy, too.

With the rapidly accelerated threat of climate catastrophe and the need to consign the fossil fuel industry to the dustbin of history, new clause 1, at the worst possible moment, risks outlawing councils from standing up for climate justice and banning divestment of pension funds from companies that are setting our planet on fire. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy) laughs, but this is an actual threat. I am not sure if he is a climate denialist, but he should really look into that.

These are just some of the blatant affronts to local democracy and ethical investments. New clause 1 is so vague and so badly worded that it would have a chilling effect on public sector pension investments. It could be weaponised against any human rights campaign that raises concerns about pension investments in any company that is not formally on a UK sanctions list. As Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch warn, it is so badly worded that, in fear of committing an offence, pension scheme managers could be forced to break their fiduciary duties.

In 1959, an anti-apartheid campaigner and Nobel peace prize winner called Albert Lutuli put out a call for global solidarity. In Britain, hundreds of thousands of campaigners responded, launching a boycott of South African goods. People across the country did what they could do to end the injustice. In my city of Coventry, the local Labour party led the fight, distributing leaflets, holding public rallies and even displaying a large poster in the city for a whole month, publicising the boycott and raising awareness about apartheid. As so often in history, it was the actions of local people, anti-racist campaigners, trade unionists and local councils that led the way, counteracting Westminster’s complicity.

Those actions, while small in themselves, were part of a global anti-apartheid movement that was instrumental in bringing an end to this injustice. We should learn that lesson. I strongly encourage Tory Members to learn the lessons of history. We should empower local councils to make democratic ethical investment decisions, not outlaw them, as new clause 1 does. [Interruption.] I therefore encourage Members on the Government Benches, especially the very enthusiastic hon. Member for Brigg and Goole, to vote against it.