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Pensions Bill

moved Amendment No. 100A: 100A: Clause 44, page 21, line 8, at end insert ““or under any corresponding provision in force in Northern Ireland”” The noble Lord said: I have tabled government amendments to Clause 44 to create consistency between the entry and inspection powers in the Bill and the corresponding provisions in the Pensions Act 2004. Section 74 of the 2004 Act gives an inspector appointed by the regulator the power to enter premises, liable to inspection, for the purpose of investigating whether an employer has complied with the stakeholder pension requirements under the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 or any corresponding provision in force in Northern Ireland. The Bill puts in place new duties on employers, and we may expect that from time to time inspectors will need to enter and inspect premises to ensure that employers are complying with the requirements. Amendments Nos. 100A and 101AA will allow an inspector to enter premises to check whether an employer is complying with the duties in Chapter 1 or with the corresponding Northern Ireland legislation, or both. Again, with a view to ensuring consistency between certain clauses of the Bill and other legislation to which they relate, I have introduced amendments to Clause 121. This clause extends Chapters 4 and 5 to Northern Ireland. The first amendment extends the interpretations of terms defined in Clause 86 to Northern Ireland where the terms relate to Chapters 4 and 5 of the Bill. The second amends the extent provision in this Bill to recognise that Clauses 46 and 47 and paragraph 9 of Schedule 8 have the extent specified within them. I beg to move.