Clause 71
Pensions Bill
10:00 am
James Plaskitt (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions; Warwick and Leamington, Labour)
I am a little clearer as to the direction he is seeking to take. I think he will be aware that there is a great deal of public sector pension reform taking place. He will know that there are new schemes for teachers that have been in operation since January of last year, and a new scheme for civil servants, which he referred to, which was introduced in July of last year. From April this year a new scheme for the NHS comes into effect and in due course there will be a new scheme for local government workers as well. He will know that the thrust of all these reforms is to ensure affordability to the public purse of all of these schemes. He will have seen the long-term public finance report that the Government published in December 2006, which confirms that expenditure on public service pension provision across the board remains sustainable over the next 50-year period. That includes and anticipates the impact of bonus payments, for example.
The Government’s assessment of the cost of these schemes and their sustainability over the foreseeable future has therefore been clearly assessed, with actuarial evidence behind it. I hope he will accept this.