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Pensions Bill

moved, as an amendment to Amendment No. 130EW, Amendment No. 130FE: 130FE: Before Clause 107, line 19, at end insert— ““( ) Regulations under this section may not include provision which would allow the Regulator to serve a contribution notice, financial support direction or restoration order on any person by reason only of a transaction whereby that person had purchased assets or securities at fair value.”” The noble Lord said: Amendment No. 130FE explores the sort of arrangement which seems to be possible under the proposals put forward by the Government. For example, a group with, in part of it, a defined benefit scheme, may sell an element of that group, perhaps a young, successful company, which it can no longer afford to finance. It wants, among other things, to provide resources for the pension fund. As it turns out, the remaining businesses in the group do not prosper and the company which was sold prospers exceedingly. Under the Government’s proposal, it would be possible for the Pensions Regulator, several years later, to say to the new owners of the successful company, ““We wish to have from you additional money to fund the old defined benefit scheme in the group that this company used to belong to””, and to overturn an open-market transaction for fair value. That is not the right way to go about things. Therefore, I have put down this amendment. I beg to move.