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Pensions Bill

moved Amendment No. 92J: 92J: Clause 35, page 17, line 23, leave out ““appeal”” and insert ““referral to the Pensions Regulator Tribunal”” The noble Lord said: A key principle of our compliance regime will be a right to appeal for recipients of fixed and escalating penalty notices. I have tabled three sets of government amendments that improve how the policy is reflected in the Bill. The first set, Amendments Nos. 92J, 92K, 92L and 93A, corrects the drafting of Clauses 35 and 36 to ensure that these rights of appeal are expressed accurately and consistently across the Bill. The second set, Amendments Nos. 95A and 95B, ensures that there is an opportunity for the regulator to conduct a formal review before any case reaches the tribunal. The amendments require recipients of fixed and escalating penalty notices to request a review before appealing to the tribunal. This will ensure that any review is completed before a formal appeal process can begin. A review will enable some cases to be addressed before they reach the tribunal and hence could provide a quicker resolution for recipients. It will also enable the tribunal to focus only on cases that could not be addressed by the regulator. The final set, Amendments Nos. 95C and 95D, aims to address concerns raised by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee about the regulation-making power in this clause. The committee was concerned that the power was too wide and recommended that the procedures and powers of the tribunal should be placed in the Bill, as they are in the Pensions Act 2004. We are addressing the committee’s concern by removing the regulation-making power and bringing the new references for the Pensions Regulator Tribunal into the existing provisions set out in the Pensions Act 2004. These amendments apply the tribunal’s procedural rules in Schedule 4 to the Pensions Act 2004 to the new references. They also provide for those references made under the new compliance regime to be treated slightly differently where necessary. We are also further considering the rights to redress in light of questions from the Select Committee on the Constitution. My noble friend will return to our intentions in this respect when he responds to Amendment No. 94 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale. These amendments will ensure a robust and speedy right of redress for those issued with penalties under the new compliance regime. I beg to move. On Question, amendment agreed to. Clause 35, as amended, agreed to. Clause 36 [Escalating penalty notices]: [Amendment No. 92JA not moved.]