Clause 72
Pensions Bill
10:15 am
Danny Alexander (Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Work & Pensions; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Liberal Democrat)
I appreciate that these are probing amendments but they are probing at a point that all Members of the Committee and those who work for us would regard as interesting and significant so I am grateful to the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire for introducing the argument.
As Members know, staff of MPs as opposed to staff of the House have the opportunity to take part in the Portcullis pension plan. I assume, though I would be grateful for the Minister’s clarification, that the auto-enrolment provisions in the Bill would apply equally to that scheme, or relevant improvements would be made to ensure that it qualified. It is important to ensure that the benefits of automatic enrolment do apply to the two groups of people highlighted by these amendments. I look forward to the Minister’s agreement with that point.