Clause 41
Pensions Bill
5:15 pm
Andrew Selous (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; South West Bedfordshire, Conservative)
These things are always more complicated than they appear on the surface. I heard the Minister’s explanation. There could be a counter-argument that might prevent the powers being inserted into the 2004 Act.
I just hope that the Minister takes my general point that we expect the powers that are given to the regulator to be exercised in a reasonable manner. Requiring someone to appear at 7 in the morning would clearly be unreasonable. Requiring them to appear somewhere far away from their business location would be unreasonable. I hope that those concerns will be in the minds of the regulator and the Government when the provisions become law.
We know that the intentions will be good, and that the regulator has a good record. However, given the wide scope of the Bill, there is concern about whether businesses will be treated fairly. I detected that that was the intention behind what the Minister said, and I hope that we do not have cause to revisit this area.
On the basis of what I have heard, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.