Pensions Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 6:05 pm on 27 October 2008.

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Photo of Lord Crickhowell Lord Crickhowell Conservative 6:05, 27 October 2008

My Lords, perhaps I may be even briefer than the noble Lord. At an earlier stage, I strongly supported the case advanced by my noble friend. I would add one other good reason to those that he listed: when things go wrong, as they occasionally do—and they have gone wrong in the case of the parliamentary scheme—and corrections and adjustments have had to be made to people's pensions, there is a great deal more confidence in those who are managing the scheme if it is known that they are elected and that the pensioners have had the opportunity to elect and know exactly who represents them, and that there are adequate means of communication between the trustees and those who represent them and pensioners. That was not exactly the case in the past. I hope that the discussions that my noble friend has described will lead to a satisfactory outcome to this problem.