Retirement Income Reform Bill
2:00 pm
Mr John Healey (Economic Secretary, HM Treasury; Wentworth, Labour)
This is an unanticipated role for me. It is therefore an unexpected pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Atkinson—your reputation for firmness and fairness goes before you, so I look forward to the Committee's proceedings.
I offer my congratulations to the hon. and learned Member for Harborough (Mr. Garnier). Coming so high in the private Member's Bill ballot is both a singular stroke of luck and a singular responsibility, and in some ways presents a singularly difficult decision on what provisions to introduce. However, I gather that the Conservative party's view of the measure may have made that decision slightly easier.
As the hon. and learned Gentleman knows, the Government are concerned about both the principles and the technicalities of the Bill, some of which we shall deal with today. However, I accept that the hon. and learned Gentleman has chosen a Bill on an issue that is important to millions of people across Britain, so I pay tribute to him for that.
As my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary made clear on Second Reading on 7 March, before she took maternity leave, the Bill is in many ways an exact replica of the Bill that the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Mr. Curry) introduced last year. Many of the deficiencies that became apparent during the proceedings on that Bill have not yet been corrected in this Bill. My hon. Friend made it clear that the Government have serious concerns on five fronts: the cost to the Exchequer; the restriction of choice for the vast majority of pensioners, albeit with extra choice in certain directions for a rather privileged few; the impact on gilt markets; the compulsory introduction of unisex annuities, and the fact that the Bill's approach and principles conflict with the Government's desire to see a much more flexible approach to retirement in future. We shall deal with some of those problems today through the amendments, although some we shall need to tackle later.
The discussions that I have had with the hon. and learned Member for Harborough have been welcome
and I understand entirely and accept the reason for the sittings motion. I have made it clear to him that this afternoon that I shall seek to make only the points that are necessary for proper scrutiny and examination of the issues. I hope, given his plans, that adequate time will made available on Report—unhindered by discussion of other matters—for us to debate the Bill. On that basis, I am content with the sittings motion.