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Pensions Bill

moved, as an amendment to Amendment No. 78B, Amendment No. 78FA: 78FA: Before Schedule 9, line 53, at end insert— ““( ) guidance issued by the Regulator in force at the relevant time concerning the circumstances in which it is appropriate to apply for clearance,”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, I hope that this amendment will not take long. The Minister said in his opening remarks that, if a clearance had been given, that would bind the regulator, including on the material detriment test; in other words, if a clearance had already been given, that would be the end of the matter. The question posed by my amendment is what happens when, in the light of the guidance for clearance applications, an employer or another person has chosen not to apply for clearance. The amendment suggests that one of the factors that the regulator should consider—not a determining factor, but one of the factors that should be determined—is whether the person was acting in accordance with guidance that existed at the time of the act. That is the simple question that my amendment puts. I beg to move.