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Occupational Pensions

I am glad to have the opportunity to introduce the recent report of the Public Administration Committee on occupational pensions following the report of the parliamentary ombudsman earlier this year. I pay tribute to my colleagues on the Committee: it is a great privilege to work with them, and I thank them for what they do to enable the Committee to function as it does. I also pay tribute to both the office and the officers of the parliamentary ombudsman, who have served this Parliament with distinction and continue to do so. It is almost 40 years since Parliament decided to establish the office of ombudsman, which was then called the parliamentary commissioner for administration. We will mark the 40th anniversary in April next year. The original legislation, the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967, contained a provision allowing the ombudsman to report to Parliament in cases in which maladministration leading to injustice had been unremedied. That sensible provision enabled Parliament’s attention to be drawn to what were believed to be the exceptional circumstances in which a finding of maladministration leading to injustice had remained unremedied by the Government of the day. We are dealing with what is only the fourth occasion in 40 years on which the parliamentary ombudsman has had to use that provision to report to Parliament. It is the first time—the only time; the unique time—that a case has arisen in which not only has the finding of maladministration been rejected by the Government of the day, but the injustice has remained unremedied. Both components of the ombudsman’s work have been set aside: the finding of maladministration and the description of how it might be put right. It is an important moment for the House when Parliament’s ombudsman is in such a position over an issue of this kind.