Clause 29 - Prohibition orders
Pensions Bill
11:00 am
Mr Chris Pond (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions; Gravesham, Labour)
I would not like to put figures on that. We are not expecting that huge numbers of trustees will be deemed unfit to carry out that responsibility. I am sure that the Committee would want to join me in paying tribute to the great majority of trustees who do an excellent job on behalf of the members of those schemes. In our discussions, we in no way want to undermine the commitment or professionalism that most trustees bring to their work.
As the hon. Gentleman indicated, however, some individuals may well be deemed to be neither fit nor proper to have such considerable responsibility for the pension interests of members, because of their activities outside their roles as trustees. In other financial walks of life, trustees may have been considered to have acted improperly. I am sure that the Committee would agree that it is important that the regulator takes that into account.
I do not wish to detain the Committee by talking about the way in which OPRA will identify those circumstances. With your permission, Mr. Griffiths, and that of the Committee, we will write in detail to members of the Committee about the sort of checks that the regulator will carry out. That might give the hon. Gentleman a better idea of the number of people who will be affected.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 29 ordered to stand part of the Bill.