Clause 4
Pensions Bill
4:30 pm
Andrew Selous (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; South West Bedfordshire, Conservative)
I am grateful to the Minister for his explanation of the amendments and clause 4. The amendments are entirely sensible. Amendment No. 117 is a way of tidying up and ensuring that clause 4 is in line with what is stated in clause 3, and the strengthening provision of amendment No. 118 is sensible also, so I understand where the Minister is coming from. However, I have a couple of questions about the Minister’s introduction to clause 4. I am grateful for his comments on clause 4 generally because he has provided a lot more information than I have been able to obtain, either from the explanatory notes or from the House of Commons Library brief. I would be grateful if he provided a little further clarification on a number of points. He mentioned, by way of example, the Tesco scheme. If I understood him correctly, he said that employees are not enrolled in the scheme at all for the first year, but that after that year they are and it would pass his test of what counts as a good scheme. I am unclear whether Tesco would retrospectively make contributions for their employee for that first year. Perhaps he can respond later, unless he wants to intervene now?