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Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

I am pleased to say that the legal advisers to the trustees have confirmed that that is an appropriate interpretation of the legislation. We will therefore not press the amendment to a vote, and the same applies to amendment 80 as amended by amendments (a) and (b). We tabled amendments (a) to Government amendment 76 because although in the case of a new scheme all the accrued rights will be covered and secured, some rights may be contingent. People who retire because of ill health, for example, will not know of their rights before the new scheme starts, because those rights will be contingent on the deterioration of their health. We are grateful to the Secretary of State for supporting the amendment. Many private sector schemes provide similar protection. If the Government accept the amendment—which I understand that they will—I shall want to put on record the trustees' recognition that the Government wish to empower IPSA to create a scheme relating to the pension benefits that Members of Parliament will earn in future. The protective words being sought in relation to rights that Members have earned are not intended in any way to prevent IPSA from creating such a scheme. However, the trustees consider it important for the contingent rights of serving Members, which have been paid for by Members' contributions, to be protected.