Amendments proposed to the Greater London Authority Bill, As Amended - continued	House of Commons
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Pensions

   

Mr Secretary Prescott

NC28

To move the following Clause:—

    '.—(1) A Minister of the Crown may by order make provision with respect to the provision of pensions for or in respect of employees, or persons who have been employees, of, or of subsidiaries of,—

(a) any of the bodies or persons falling within subsection (2) of section (Transfers of property, rights or liabilities) above;

(b) any of the bodies or persons falling within subsection (3) of that section; or

(c) any body or person whose undertaking, or part of whose undertaking, has been transferred by or under any enactment to a body or person falling within paragraph (b) above.

    (2) The provision that may be made by virtue of subsection (1) above includes provision for or in connection with—

(a) the establishment of pension schemes or pension funds;

(b) the administration or management of pension schemes or pension funds;

(c) enabling persons to participate, or continue to participate, in any pension scheme and requiring their employers to make contributions under that scheme;

(d) the rates, or the variation of the rates, of contributions to be made under any pension scheme, whether by employees or employers;

(e) the re-arrangement, amalgamation, simplification or assimilation of pension schemes.

    (3) An order under subsection (1) above may make provision for or in connection with—

(a) establishing a body to administer or assist in administering a pension scheme;

(b) enabling all or any of the participants in a pension scheme to become instead participants in another pension scheme;

(c) empowering the persons responsible for administering a pension scheme to carry out arrangements for the participation in the scheme of a person who has been an employee of, or of a subsidiary of, a body or person falling within paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (1) above;

(d) the manner in which questions arising under the order are to be determined.

    (4) An order under subsection (1) above may make provision for or in connection with cases where a person who, having pension rights to which such an order relates, becomes—

(a) a member of a body or person falling within subsection (2) of section (Transfers of property, rights or liabilities) above, or

(b) a director of a subsidiary of such a body or person.

    (5) The provision that may be made by virtue of subsection (4) above includes, in particular, provision for or in connection with—

(a) treating a person's service as such a member or director as service in the employment of, or of a subsidiary of, such a body or person; or

(b) treating two or more periods of service as continuous.

    (6) In this section—

"pension" means a pension of any kind payable to or in respect of a person and includes—

    (a) a lump sum, allowance or gratuity so payable; and

    (b) a return of contributions, with or without interest or other addition;

"pension rights" includes—

    (a) all forms of right to or eligibility for the present or future payment of a pension to or in respect of a person; and

    (b) a right of allocation in respect of the present or future payment of a pension.'.

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Transfer and pension instruments: common provisions

   

Mr Secretary Prescott

NC29

To move the following Clause:—

    '.—(1) The property, rights and liabilities which may be transferred by a transfer or pension instrument include property, rights and liabilities that would not otherwise be capable of being transferred or assigned.

    (2) No right of reverter, right of pre-emption, right of forfeiture, right of re-entry, right to compensation, option or similar right affecting any land or other property shall operate or become exercisable as a result of any transfer of land or other property by virtue of a transfer or pension instrument (whether or not any consent required to the transfer has been obtained).

    (3) Any such right or option shall accordingly have effect in the case of any such transfer as if—

(a) the transferee in relation to that transfer were the same person in law as the transferor; and

(b) no transfer of the land or other property had taken place.

    (4) Subsection (3) above is without prejudice to section (Continuity: repealed or revoked functions of LRT) above, section (Continuity) below or any other provision made by or under this Act which makes transitional provision in relation to a transfer.

    (5) Subsections (2) to (4) above shall have effect in relation to—

(a) the grant or creation of an estate or interest in, or right over, any land or other property, or

(b) the doing of any other thing in relation to land or other property,

    as it has effect in relation to a transfer of land or other property.

    (6) No right to terminate or vary a contract, and no other rights under a contract, shall operate or become exercisable by reason of any transfer of shares by virtue of a transfer or pension instrument.

    (7) A transfer or pension instrument may define the property, rights and liabilities to be transferred by it—

(a) by specifying or describing them;

(b) by referring to all (or all but so much as may be excepted) of the property, rights and liabilities comprised in a specified part of the undertaking of the transferor; or

(c) partly in the one way and partly in the other.

    (8) A transfer or pension instrument may make provision for the apportionment or division of any property, rights or liabilities.

    (9) Where a transfer or pension instrument makes provision for the apportionment or division between two or more persons of any rights or liabilities under a contract, the contract shall have effect, as from the coming into force of the provision, as if it constituted two or more separate contracts separately enforceable by and against each of those persons respectively as respects the part of the rights or liabilities which falls to him as a result of the apportionment or division.

    (10) The provision that may be made by a transfer or pension instrument includes provision for—

(a) any transfer of land or other property by virtue of the instrument,

(b) the grant or creation of any estate or interest in, or right over, any land or other property by virtue of the instrument, or

(c) the doing of any other thing in relation to land or other property by virtue of the instrument,

    to be on such terms, including financial terms, as the body or person making the instrument thinks fit.

    (11) A transfer or pension instrument, other than an order under section (Pensions) above, may provide—

(a) that disputes as to the effect of the instrument between the transferor and any transferee are to be referred to such arbitration as may be specified in or determined under the instrument;

(b) that determinations on such arbitrations and certificates given jointly by the transferor and any transferee as to the effect of the instrument as between them are to be conclusive for all purposes.

    (12) A Minister of the Crown may by order confer on any body or person to whom property, rights or liabilities are transferred by a transfer or pension instrument any statutory functions which were previously exercisable in relation to that property or, as the case may be, those rights or liabilities—

(a) by a body or person falling within subsection (3) of section (Transfers of property, rights or liabilities) above; or

(b) in the case of a transfer under or by virtue of section (Pensions) below, the transferor under the instrument.

    (13) If at any time after a transfer or pension instrument has come into force a Minister of the Crown considers it appropriate to do so, having consulted any body which, or person who, may be affected, he may by order provide that the instrument shall for all purposes be deemed to have come into force with such modifications as may be specified in the order.

    (14) An order under sub-paragraph (13) above may make such provision as could have been made by the instrument.

    (15) It shall be the duty of each of the bodies and persons falling within subsection (3) of section (Transfers of property, rights or liabilities) above to provide any Minister of the Crown with such information or assistance as he may reasonably require for the purposes of, or in connection with, the exercise of any powers exercisable by him in relation to transfer or pension instruments.

    (16) In this section "transfer or pension instrument" means—

(a) an order under section (Transfers of property, rights or liabilities) or (Pensions) above; or

(b) a scheme under section (Transfer schemes) above.'.

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Continuity

   

Mr Secretary Prescott

NC30

To move the following Clause:—

    '.—(1) None of the following, that is to say—

(a) the abolition or dissolution by or under this Act of any body or office,

(b) the transfer, repeal or revocation by or under this Act of any functions, or

(c) the transfer by or under this Act of any property, rights or liabilities,

    shall affect the validity of anything done before the abolition, dissolution, transfer, repeal or revocation takes effect.

    (2) Subsections (3) to (5) below apply where any functions, property, rights or liabilities are transferred by or under this Act from a body or person ("the transferor") to another body or person ("the transferee").

    (3) There may be continued by or in relation to the transferee anything (including legal proceedings) which—

(a) relates to any of the functions, property, rights or liabilities transferred, and

(b) is in the process of being done by or in relation to the transferor immediately before the transfer takes effect.

    (4) Anything which—

(a) was done by the transferor for the purposes of or otherwise in connection with any of the functions, property, rights or liabilities transferred, and

(b) is in effect immediately before the transfer takes effect,

    shall have effect as if done by the transferee.

    (5) The transferee shall be substituted for the transferor in any instruments, contracts or legal proceedings which—

(a) relate to any of the functions, property, rights or liabilities transferred, and

(b) are made or commenced before the transfer takes effect.

    (6) Any reference in this section to anything done by or in relation to the transferor includes a reference to anything which by virtue of any enactment is treated as having been done by or in relation to the transferor.

    (7) Any question under this section as to—

(a) whether any particular functions, property, rights or liabilities are transferred by or under this Act, or

(b) the body to which, or person to whom, any particular functions, property, rights or liabilities are so transferred,

    may be determined by a direction given by the Secretary of State.

    (8) Subsections (1) to (7) above are without prejudice to any provision made by or under this Act in relation to any particular functions.

    (9) Nothing in this section shall be construed—

(a) as continuing in force any contract of employment; or

(b) as transferring any rights or liabilities relating to pensions.'.

Prepared 4 May 1999