Clause 36
Pensions Bill
4:30 pm
Andrew Selous (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; South West Bedfordshire, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 147, in clause 36, page 16, line 17, leave out ‘may’ and insert ‘must’.
The clause deals with references to the Pensions Regulator tribunal. My hon. Friends and I tabled the amendment because we heard strong, heartfelt pleas—certainly from the representatives of employers’ organisations during our evidence sessions—that the compliance and enforcement regime should be proportionate, with the big stick used only when really needed. Given the wording of clause 36, it strikes me that giving the Secretary of State a discretionary power on how he or she might constitute a tribunal and the manner in which the tribunal would be called would not give employers the reassurance that they need that they will have the right to go to a tribunal.
Some time ago, one of our older and wiser colleagues put it to me that summary justice without the right of appeal is the hallmark of a dictatorship. While I would not suggest that ministerial motives go quite so far, the serious point is that while we all back a tough compliance regime, it must be fair. Those employers who are being hauled up, perhaps for inadvertent errors, must have rights. It might be that the business is incredibly busy, that the order book is overflowing, that there are staff problems, or that the matter has genuinely slipped their minds. The right to go to a tribunal should be absolute, which is why I query the word “may” and think that “must” should be inserted.