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Pensions Bill

I start from the point that I am in total agreement with the noble Lord, Lord Oakeshott—and indeed with almost everyone who has spoken in this short debate, with the exception of the noble Baroness, Lady Turner—that public sector pensions need to be reformed. We all know that. We know what the problem is, and the noble Lord, Lord Turner, has spoken of it. There is no justification for the imbalance that already exists and will, as the noble Lord, Lord Turner, just said, continue to exist between the private sector and the public sector, with the former having to bear all the costs and the latter continuing to enjoy all the benefits. However, I believe that, since we know the problems and the need—unlike with the invention of a scheme to persuade more people to save for their retirement, where a commission was most certainly necessary—there is now no need for a commission to decide what needs to be done. I believe that a commission would merely lead to unnecessary delay, cost and bureaucracy, and yet more public sector employees going on to the payroll with all the pension additions. The noble Lord, Lord Oakeshott, made great play of one of my honourable friends in another place. It is true that my party did support this amendment, or something very similar to it in principle, as the Bill passed through another place. Since then, we have reconsidered our position, which is why I have been unable to give the amendment my total support today. I do not want to go any further except to say that, if only one word is to be taken away from today’s debate, it is a word uttered by the noble Lord, Lord Turner—that we need ““transparency”” on this issue. But, again, I do not think that a commission is the way to give it to us.