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Pensions Bill

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Turner, for his support and for his excellent analysis of the problem. I would be absolutely delighted if he were to take up the poisoned chalice again, although I am not expecting him to do so. I particularly enjoyed his remarks about the Treasury’s legitimate robust challenge to his proposals. He put in a very robust challenge to its hopelessly optimistic assumptions about public sector leaving rates. We will return to that, and we will no doubt question Ministers in considerable detail about that very optimistic assumption that he has now revealed. The answer to other speakers, particularly the noble Baroness, Lady Turner, and the noble Lords, Lord Fowler and Lord Skelmersdale, on why we want to do just this one, if you like—the noble Lord,Lord Fowler, called it narrow, but I would call it focused—is that the rest of the landscape has been done. The main Turner commission was able to look at basically everything apart from public sector pensions, so this is the essential gap. We want to get an independent commission that will have as a substantial part of its work looking at the public affordability of public sector pensions, which we all agree on this side of the Committee is a major problem. I am a realist; because the Conservatives in the other place made a very good case, I thought it was worth stressing what they had said. I look forward to further discussion before Report, and I hope that we can find between us the basis of an independent commission that carries wider support in the Committee than my amendment does. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.