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Occupational Pensions

As I understand it, their role will be to work with the whole Government to make sure that we follow good principles of administration and that we respond to the ombudsman appropriately. She has been working with us on some good principles of administration. If the hon. Gentleman asked her, I think he would find that she was relatively happy with those proposals. It is worth making the point that although what happened was exceptional, it is not unprecedented. The ombudsman herself recognises that the Government may"““reject recommendations that I may make, after proper consideration of the public interest, and other calls on the public purse, and any other relevant matters””." As the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir George Young) said, we have two duties to Parliament: first, to take proper account of the ombudsman’s findings and, secondly, properly to account for the use of public money. It is not our money, it is taxpayers’ money. We have been trying to strike a balance between those two duties—our respect for the ombudsman and the proper use of public money.