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Written question asked by Grahame Morris (Labour) on Wednesday, 24 July 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 3 September 2019 (named day). It was answered by Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative) on Tuesday, 3 September 2019 on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Johnston Press: Insolvency

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will make an assessment of (a) the reasons for the collapse of Johnston Press and (b) whether additional powers for the Pension Regulator would help to safeguard pension funds and mitigate the potential financial loss to employees.

Answer

The Johnston Press Group entered administration on 17 November 2018 and its business and assets were sold to a company owned by the Group’s bondholders (JPI Media Group) under a pre-pack arrangement. The government cannot comment on individual insolvency cases. However, the Pensions Regulator in its report of March 2019 found no evidence that the insolvency of Johnston Press was avoidable and had no reason to use its anti-avoidance powers.

The government’s White Paper 2018 “Protecting Defined Benefit Pension Schemes” proposed a number of new measures to provide better protection for scheme members’ benefits, including giving the Pensions Regulator additional powers to enable it to be more proactive with tougher penalties to deter wrongdoing.

A response to the consultation was published on 11 February 2019.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
281707
Session
2017-19
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Insolvency Powers Pensions Staff Pensions Regulator Johnston Press
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk