Clause 49 - Inspection of premises: powers of inspectors
Pensions Bill
3:45 pm
Mr George Osborne (Tatton, Conservative)
Amendment No. 206 is consequential, so I will deal with amendment No. 207, which is the more substantive amendment, and would remove subsection (2)(f). I again want the Government to justify why they are taking certain powers. That subsection allows an inspector to examine
''either alone or in the presence of another person, any person on the premises whom he has reasonable cause to believe to be able to give information relevant to that matter.''
That the inspector can be alone set an alarm bell ringing in my head. I presume that someone who is being questioned would be able to have a lawyer present, so they would not necessarily be alone. I hope that that right will be protected, because civil or even criminal proceedings could follow.