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Pensions Bill

moved Amendment No. 5: 5: Clause 2, page 2, line 4, leave out ““, or make any omission,”” The noble Lord said: It was not intended that this amendment should pre-empt what the Minister would say on the next amendment, which is grouped with it, but it so happened that I managed to get this amendment down to the Public Bill Office first, with the Minister following on. The reason why I tabled it in the first place had nothing to do with the Minister’s Amendment No. 6, although it is grouped with it; it is purely and simply a probing amendment to explore the burdens that auto-enrolment will place on employers. As I understand it, Clause 2(1) prevents the employer of a worker in a qualifying scheme from taking any action to dissuade him to leave the scheme while he remains in that employment, presumably with or without the employee’s approval. That is all well and good; I have no trouble with that at all. My amendment would remove the words, ““or make any omission””, for two reasons. The first is to ask the Minister to give us an example of the sort of omission that the Government are thinking of. I know that there is a small reference in the notes on clauses, but I do not think that it is as complete as the Minister could make it, if he wished to. The second reason is to highlight the additional work that auto-enrolment will inevitably place on the shoulders of employers. I have no doubt that large employers, with their HR departments, will not have too much difficulty with those extra burdens, but what about small and medium-sized enterprises? Have the Government made any estimate of the number of these that are likely to have schemes that will qualify? What demands does the Minister expect to be placed on them? How much paperwork and other administrative burdens will those employers have to deal with? Does he really believe that, even though it will be illegal for them not to make any act or omission, some will not try it on? In my research this morning, I came across an article that was prompted by the National Association of Pension Funds, which suggested that many thousands of pounds might be necessary to alter the schemes to make them qualify. Both my noble friend and I will bring up that point on later amendments, but for now will the Minister provide answers to my questions? I beg to move.