My hon. Friend is quite right. Trade unions do sit on many of the LGPS committees. I was making the point that it is on the pools where there is less representation for those member voices to be heard, and that is extremely important.

Finally, I want to talk about the...

My hon. Friend is quite right. Trade unions do sit on many of the LGPS committees. I was making the point that it is on the pools where there is less representation for those member voices to be heard, and that is extremely important.

Finally, I want to talk about the...

Motion that this House has considered pension schemes. Agreed to on question.

Motion that this House has considered pension schemes. Agreed to on question.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered pension schemes.

I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for allowing time for this debate. I last spoke about this issue in a half-hour debate in Westminster Hall on 17 January, and there have since been a number of significant developments, not...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered pension schemes.

I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for allowing time for this debate. I last spoke about this issue in a half-hour debate in Westminster Hall on 17 January, and there have since been a number of significant developments, not...

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. I have been contacted by three retired members of ExxonMobil, which has a very large refinery in my constituency. I was reluctant to name the firm because I have not had a chance to ask for its side...

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. I have been contacted by three retired members of ExxonMobil, which has a very large refinery in my constituency. I was reluctant to name the firm because I have not had a chance to ask for its side...

It pains me to say it, but I think the right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. What might have started with the oil and gas companies is clearly going much wider.

I should declare an interest, as I hope to be the beneficiary of a defined benefit pension, if I live...

It pains me to say it, but I think the right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. What might have started with the oil and gas companies is clearly going much wider.

I should declare an interest, as I hope to be the beneficiary of a defined benefit pension, if I live...

I welcome the debate, and congratulate the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing it at a time when a lot is happening in pensions policy. I will take advantage of its broad scope to comment on wider issues, as well as picking up on the...

I welcome the debate, and congratulate the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing it at a time when a lot is happening in pensions policy. I will take advantage of its broad scope to comment on wider issues, as well as picking up on the...

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for touching on an area that I should perhaps have given more attention to. The most important protection we can give the beneficiaries is through ensuring that there are independent trustees, and that the office of trustee cannot be manipulated by the...

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for touching on an area that I should perhaps have given more attention to. The most important protection we can give the beneficiaries is through ensuring that there are independent trustees, and that the office of trustee cannot be manipulated by the...

The right hon. Gentleman is quite right. We have noted a bit of a move towards sole trustees in a number of cases, which clearly gives rise to concerns about how one person can represent the interests of the members of a pension scheme. We are reflecting on that in...

The right hon. Gentleman is quite right. We have noted a bit of a move towards sole trustees in a number of cases, which clearly gives rise to concerns about how one person can represent the interests of the members of a pension scheme. We are reflecting on that in...

I wonder whether the Chair of the Select Committee shares my concern that when those schemes go wrong, it seems to take an interminable time to get any form of resolution. I have in mind a scheme that I am sure he is familiar with: the Atomic Energy Authority Technology...

I wonder whether the Chair of the Select Committee shares my concern that when those schemes go wrong, it seems to take an interminable time to get any form of resolution. I have in mind a scheme that I am sure he is familiar with: the Atomic Energy Authority Technology...

The right hon. Gentleman makes a very fair point. That is certainly a very long-running case, and the Select Committee has recently been looking at a notable pension scam case—the Norton Motorcycle Company pension schemes, which was a straightforward scam—that has been running for years and years. He is right...

The right hon. Gentleman makes a very fair point. That is certainly a very long-running case, and the Select Committee has recently been looking at a notable pension scam case—the Norton Motorcycle Company pension schemes, which was a straightforward scam—that has been running for years and years. He is right...

It is a pleasure to follow the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms), and I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing the debate. It gives us a chance to raise...

It is a pleasure to follow the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms), and I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing the debate. It gives us a chance to raise...

The hon. Member raises a point that I have been particularly concerned about. Constituents have recently come to me because they are facing problems getting their pension entitlement from Police Scotland, so from a public sector pension. One of the lessons we need to learn from these continual scandals is...

The hon. Member raises a point that I have been particularly concerned about. Constituents have recently come to me because they are facing problems getting their pension entitlement from Police Scotland, so from a public sector pension. One of the lessons we need to learn from these continual scandals is...

I agree with the hon. Lady. Indeed, that is reflected in what the Committee set out, which I will come to in a moment. Quite understandably, those pensioners have made it clear to me that they see themselves in the ilk of other huge, historic injustices, such as those we...

I agree with the hon. Lady. Indeed, that is reflected in what the Committee set out, which I will come to in a moment. Quite understandably, those pensioners have made it clear to me that they see themselves in the ilk of other huge, historic injustices, such as those we...

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate, and I congratulate the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing it and the Backbench Business Committee on granting it.

This is an important matter, no matter what age people are. I appreciate that today we are not...

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate, and I congratulate the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing it and the Backbench Business Committee on granting it.

This is an important matter, no matter what age people are. I appreciate that today we are not...

The former Secretary of State says we should not be scaremongering, but there are some serious concerns. Does she accept that the Pensions Regulator report said that the mini-Budget of the former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss), contributed to a £425 billion drop...

The former Secretary of State says we should not be scaremongering, but there are some serious concerns. Does she accept that the Pensions Regulator report said that the mini-Budget of the former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss), contributed to a £425 billion drop...

I certainly will not accept responsibility for that. I am conscious of the arrangement with the Pension Regulator, but also the situation that happened with liability-driven investments. The Bank of England saw that as a risk in 2018 and did nothing about it. I come back to the fact that...

I certainly will not accept responsibility for that. I am conscious of the arrangement with the Pension Regulator, but also the situation that happened with liability-driven investments. The Bank of England saw that as a risk in 2018 and did nothing about it. I come back to the fact that...

I thank and commend the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for leading today’s debate. I attended his half-hour Westminster Hall debate on this issue and

supported him when he outlined his case in the short time he had. He has done exceptionally well today in doing...

I thank and commend the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for leading today’s debate. I attended his half-hour Westminster Hall debate on this issue and

supported him when he outlined his case in the short time he had. He has done exceptionally well today in doing...

I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) and the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, the right hon. Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms), for their work in bringing this important matter to the House.

The right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland mentioned...

I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) and the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, the right hon. Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms), for their work in bringing this important matter to the House.

The right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland mentioned...

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing and opening this debate.

He has spoken passionately about this subject in the House before, especially in relation to the BP, Shell and other oil and gas schemes, and about the way that decisions are being...

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing and opening this debate.

He has spoken passionately about this subject in the House before, especially in relation to the BP, Shell and other oil and gas schemes, and about the way that decisions are being...

It is a pleasure to be here today. I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) and the Backbench Business Committee for allowing the debate, which is a second outing on the issue within a few months.

We all agree that occupational pensions are crucially important. Many...

It is a pleasure to be here today. I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) and the Backbench Business Committee for allowing the debate, which is a second outing on the issue within a few months.

We all agree that occupational pensions are crucially important. Many...