Part of Pensions Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 5:15 pm on 22 January 2008.
I am grateful to the Minister for his explanations in relation to Government amendments Nos. 120 and 122. They seem entirely sensible and I understand what the Minister is trying to do with them. I was pleased to hear the Minister say that he was not opposed to the principle of amendment No. 70. Our reason for tabling it is to seek clarity, to help the employer have clear records about who has and has not opted in, and perhaps to prevent any come-back against the employer if, at a later date, the employee says, “What is this deduction on my wage slip at the end of the month? I don’t remember authorising you to take any more money from me”. It is just to give that degree of protection to the employer and have a proper audit trail. That is where we are coming from, but the Minister has said that he is sympathetic to those type of actions and seeks to clarify how that would happen by way of regulation at a later date. With that commitment from him, I do not wish to press amendment No. 70 to a vote.