---

Pensions Bill

At this stage, I am suggesting that, if the noble Lord feels able not to press his amendment, perhaps the first thing to do would be to see whether there could be some engagement with the Leader of the other place to raise these issues more directly. The noble Lord may be aware that a review of the parliamentary pension arrangements is in hand. The Leader in another place announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 17 June—this was particularly because of the anticipated increase in the cost of benefits accruing under the parliamentary pension arrangements—that the Government would shortly be asking the Senior Salaries Review Body to undertake a major review of those arrangements. The review will need to consider among other things the findings of the Government Actuary’s valuation of the parliamentary contributory pension fund, which is to be completed in March 2009. It will perhaps be spring 2010 before the SSRB reports.