Clause 11 - Functions exercisable by the
Pensions Bill
4:00 pm
Mr Chris Pond (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions; Gravesham, Labour)
Clause 11 and Schedule 2 outline the determinations panel's duties. The amendments that have just been presented to the Committee would introduce regrettable inflexibilities. The purpose is that the determinations panel should be light on its feet.
The determinations panel will exercise the reserved regulatory functions set out in schedule 2. Amendment No. 126 would remove the ability to add or remove reserved regulatory functions by regulations, but that facility is needed if we are to have a genuinely flexible and proactive regulator. Any additions to or removals from the list by regulation will provide for parliamentary scrutiny to ensure that functions are delegated only in a responsible and effective way. In addition to exercising these functions, the panel may act on behalf of the regulator in exercising non-reserved regulatory functions. That will enable the panel to issue an improvement notice, for example, to which I referred a few moments ago.
Amendment No. 127 would prevent the regulator from delegating any non-reserved functions to the panel, which again would introduce unwelcome rigidities. Amendment No. 128 would require the whole panel of seven members to sit before any of its functions could be exercised. That would create a slow and cumbersome process. It is recognised practice for sub-committees to determine matters. There also needs to be some flexibility for cases where a panel member faces a conflict of interest. Sufficient safeguards are built into the process to allow directly affected parties a right to seek a review of a decision by the pensions regulator tribunal.
The hon. Member for Northavon asked who pays for the determinations panel. The money will come from the levy, in the same way as all the other costs of the regulator are met. On the basis of that clarification, I ask for the amendment to be withdrawn.