Clause
109
Commencement
6.15
pm
Mr.
O'Brien:
I beg to move amendment No. 187, in
clause 109, page 48, line 12, leave
out ‘61’ and insert
‘60’.
The
Chairman:
With this it will be convenient to discuss
Government amendment No.
188.
Mr.
O'Brien:
These are simple drafting amendments. Amendment
No. 187 would ensure that clause 60 commenced at the right time on
Royal Assent—at the same time as the clauses to which the
interpretation provisions relate. We hope that it will avoid the need
for an unnecessary commencement order, which would do exactly the same.
Amendment No. 188 would ensure that schedule 8 commenced at the same
time as clause 108, which it introduces.
Amendment agreed
to.
Amendments
made: No. 191, in
clause 109, page 48, line 13,
at end insert—
‘(ca) section
[Appointment of
trustees];’.
No.
188, in
clause 109, page 48, line 14, at
end insert ‘and Schedule
8’.
No. 192, in
clause 109, page 48, line 14, at
end insert—
‘(3A) Section
[Appointment of trustees] comes into force at the end of the period of
2 months beginning with the day on which this Act is
passed.’.—[Mr. Mike
O'Brien.]
Clause
109, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clauses 110 and 111 ordered
to stand part of the Bill.
New Clause
8
Workers
without qualifying
earnings
‘(1) This section
applies to a worker—
(a)
to whom paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 1(1) apply (working in Great
Britain and aged between 16 and
75),
(b) to whom paragraph (c)
of section 1(1) does not apply (qualifying earnings),
and
(c) who is not an active
member of a pension scheme that satisfies the requirements of this
section.
(2) The worker may by
notice require the employer to arrange for the worker to become an
active member of a pension scheme that satisfies the requirements of
this section.
(3) The Secretary
of State may by regulations make
provision—
(a) about the
form and content of the
notice;
(b) about the
arrangements that the employer is required to
make;
(c) for determining the
date with effect from which the worker is (subject to compliance with
any requirements of the scheme rules) to become an active member under
the arrangements.
(4)
Subsections (5) and (6) apply where a worker becomes an active member
of a pension scheme in pursuance of a notice under this section and,
within the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which that
notice was given—
(a)
ceases to be an active member of that scheme because of any action or
omission by the worker, and
(b)
gives the employer a further notice under this
section.
(5) The further notice
does not have effect to require the employer to arrange for the worker
to become an active member of a pension
scheme.
(6) But any
arrangements the employer makes for the worker to become, within that
period, an active member of a pension scheme that satisfies the
requirements of this section must be made in accordance with
regulations under this
section.
(7) A pension scheme
satisfies the requirements of this section
if—
(a) it is an
occupational pension scheme or a personal pension
scheme,
(b) it is registered
under Chapter 2 of Part 4 of the Finance Act 2004 (c. 12),
and
(c) in the case of a
personal pension scheme, there are, in relation to the worker
concerned, direct payment arrangements (within the meaning of section
111A of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 (c. 48)) between the worker
and the employer.’.—[Mr. Mike
O'Brien.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New Clause
12
Transitional
periods for money purchase and personal pension
schemes
‘(1) During the first
transitional period for money purchase and personal pension
schemes—
(a) sections
18(1)(b) and 24(3)(b) have effect as if for “3%” there
were substituted
“1%”;
(b)
sections 18(1)(c) and 24(4)(b) have effect as if for “8%”
there were substituted
“2%”.
(2) The
first transitional period is a prescribed period of at least one year,
beginning with the coming into force of section
18.
(3) During the second
transitional period for money purchase and personal pension
schemes—
(a) sections
18(1)(b) and 24(3)(b) have effect as if for “3%” there
were substituted
“2%”.
(b)
sections 18(1)(c) and 24(4)(b) have effect as if for “8%”
there were substituted
“5%”.
(4) The
second transitional period is a prescribed period of at least one year,
beginning with the end of the first transitional
period.’.—[Mr. Mike
O'Brien.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
13
Transitional
period for defined benefits and hybrid
schemes
‘(1) Subsection (3)
applies if, in relation to a person who on the employer’s first
enrolment date is a jobholder to whom section 3 applies, the conditions
in subsection (2) are satisfied, and continue to be satisfied during
the transitional period for defined benefits and hybrid
schemes.
(2) The conditions are
that—
(a) the jobholder
has been employed by the employer for a continuous period beginning
before the employer’s first enrolment
date,
(b) at a time in that
period before the employer’s first enrolment date, the jobholder
became entitled to become an active member of a defined benefits scheme
or a hybrid scheme,
(c) the
jobholder is, and has always since that time been, entitled to become
an active member of a defined benefits scheme or a hybrid scheme,
and
(d) the scheme to which
that entitlement relates is a qualifying scheme, and any scheme to
which it has related on or after the employer’s first enrolment
date has been a qualifying
scheme.
(3) Where this
subsection applies, section 3 has effect in relation to the jobholder
with the substitution for subsection (2) of the following
subsection—
“(2)
The employer must make prescribed arrangements by which the jobholder
becomes an active member, with effect from the end of the transitional
period for defined benefits and hybrid schemes, of an automatic
enrolment scheme which is a defined benefits scheme or a hybrid
scheme.”.
(4) If at any
time in the transitional period for defined benefits and hybrid schemes
the condition in subsection (2)(c) or (d) of this section ceases to be
satisfied, subsection (5) applies instead of subsection (3) (and the
day after the last day on which that condition is satisfied is referred
to as “the closure
date”).
(5) Where this
subsection applies, section 3 has effect in relation to the jobholder
with the substitution for subsection (2) of the following
subsection—
“(2)
The employer must make prescribed arrangements by which the jobholder
either—
(a) becomes an active member, with effect from the
closure date, of an automatic enrolment scheme which is a defined
benefits scheme or a hybrid scheme,
or
(b) becomes an active
member, with effect from the automatic enrolment date, of an automatic
enrolment scheme which is a money purchase
scheme.”
(6) If the
jobholder becomes a member of a scheme under arrangements made under
subsection (2)(b) of that section (as substituted by subsection
(5))—
(a) the
employer’s contributions are payable with effect from the
automatic enrolment date;
(b)
any requirement of the scheme rules (in accordance with section 18(1))
for contributions to be payable by the jobholder does not apply in
respect of the period of the jobholder’s membership before the
closure date;
(c) regulations
made for the purposes of section 3(2)(b) must secure that the jobholder
may pay, within a period prescribed by the regulations, any
contributions which would have been payable by the jobholder but for
paragraph (b) of this
subsection.
(7) Where
subsection (3) or (5) of this section applies, section 3(3) and (4)
apply as if references to the automatic enrolment date were references
to the day on which arrangements would by virtue of this section fall
to be made in respect of the
jobholder.
(8) The transitional
period for defined benefits and hybrid schemes is a prescribed period
beginning with the day on which section 3 comes into
force.
(9) In this section the
“employer’s first enrolment date” means the first
day on which section 3 applies in the case of the employer (where that
date falls within the transitional period for defined benefits and
hybrid schemes).’.—[Mr. Mike
O'Brien.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
14
Disclosure
of tax information etc
‘(1)
In the Pensions Act 2004 (c. 35) for section 88 (tax information)
substitute—
“88
Tax information etc
(1) This
section applies to information held by the Revenue and Customs if it is
held by them in connection with a function of the Revenue and Customs
that relates to any of these
matters—
(a) tax or
duty;
(b) national insurance
contributions;
(c) the national
minimum wage.
(2) An officer of
Revenue and Customs may disclose to the Regulator information to which
this section applies, if the disclosure is made for the purpose of
enabling or assisting the Regulator to discharge its
functions.
(3) Where
information to which this section applies is disclosed to the Regulator
by virtue of subsection (2) above or section 19 of the Anti-terrorism,
Crime and Security Act 2001 (disclosure of information held by revenue
departments), it must, subject to subsections (4) and (5), be treated
for the purposes of section 82 as restricted
information.
(4) Information to
which this section applies which is disclosed to the Regulator as
mentioned in subsection (3) may not be disclosed by the Regulator or
any person who receives the information directly or indirectly from the
Regulator except—
(a)
to, or in accordance with authority given by, the Commissioners for Her
Majesty’s Revenue and
Customs,
(b) with a view to the
institution of, or otherwise for the purposes of, any criminal
proceedings,
(c) with a view to the institution of any other
proceedings by the Regulator, or for the purposes of any such
proceedings instituted by the
Regulator,
(d) in accordance
with section 84, otherwise than for the purposes of any proceedings,
or
(e) in the form of a summary
or collection of information so framed as not to enable information
relating to any particular person to be ascertained from
it.
(5) Accordingly sections
82(3), 83, 85 to 87 and 235, and paragraph 4 of Schedule 10, do not
apply to such information, and section 84 applies subject to subsection
(4)(d).
(6) In subsection
(4)(c) and (d), “proceedings” includes the issue of
notices or any other enforcement action taken by the Regulator under
Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Pensions Act 2008 or any other
enactment.
(7) In this section
“the Revenue and Customs” and a “function of the
Revenue and Customs” have the same meaning as in section 18 of
the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005
(confidentiality).”
(2)
In section 82 of that Act (restricted information) in subsection (3)
for “88(4)” substitute
“88(4)(d)”.’.—[Mr. Mike
O'Brien.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
15
Employment
Appeal Tribunal
In section 21(1) of
the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 (jurisdiction of appeal tribunal)
after paragraph (gc)
insert—
“(gd) the
Pensions Act 2008,”.’.—[Mr. Mike
O'Brien.]
Brought
up, and read the First
time.
Mr.
O'Brien:
I beg to move, That the clause be read a second
time.
The new clause
is technical and will allow employers and workers to appeal to the
Employment Appeal Tribunal against decisions made by an employment
tribunal relating to the right not to suffer detriment. That appeal
route is available in the context of other employment rights, and not
to provide it in this context would appear anomalous. It is an
important point of principle that employers and workers are able to
appeal against decisions relating to both the right not to suffer
detriment and unfair dismissal. Their right to appeal against
employment tribunal decisions relating to the right not to be unfairly
dismissed is already provided for under the Employment Rights Act
1996.
Question put
and agreed
to.
Clause read
a Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
20
Financial
assistance scheme
‘(1)
Subsection (2) of section 286 of the Pensions Act 2004 (financial
assistance scheme for members of certain pension schemes) is amended as
follows.
(2) In the definition
of “qualifying member”, for the words from “a
person” to the end of paragraph (b) substitute “a person
who, at such time as may be prescribed, is a member of the scheme or
has ceased to be a member of the
scheme,”.
(3) In the
definition of “qualifying pension scheme” after paragraph
(b) insert—
“(ba)
the assets of which, at such time as may be prescribed, are
insufficient to satisfy in full the
liabilities of the scheme calculated in the prescribed
manner,”. (4) Omit the
definition of “scheme’s pension liabilities” and
the words from “and a qualifying pension scheme” to the
end.’.—[Mr. Mike
O'Brien.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
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