Getting this right is incredibly important. The change in the guidance last month allows every single NHS trust to introduce the flexibilities, immediately, to ensure that doctors can do the work and the overtime they need, get paid properly for it and not get penalised through the impact on the pensions system. That change came in at the start of last month. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the details, so that he can tell all doctors that these flexibilities are available so that they can do the work that they need to.

The pension tax rules apply equally across all registered public and private sector defined benefit schemes, including the NHS Pension Scheme. The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review through the annual Budget process.

On the 3 June 2019 the SoS for Health and Social Care announced his intention to consult on implementing a new pension flexibility for senior clinicians in the NHS Pension Scheme for England and Wales, to provide a structured way for clinicians to manage their NHS pension growth.

The Government is committed to public service pensions which are fair to workers and fair to other taxpayers. The tapered annual allowance is focussed on the highest earning pension savers, to ensure that the tax relief they receive is not disproportionate to that of other savers. The Government is aware of specific concerns raised by some high-earning NHS doctors impacted by annual allowance tax charges. As the Chancellor said at the Treasury Select Committee, we are currently in discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care about providing additional pension flexibility for NHS doctors affected by annual allowance tax charges.

Policing is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are responsible for the design and funding of police pensions, including provisions for widows and widowers, in those parts of the United Kingdom. The Government takes decisions on public service pensions in line with its duty to ensure that public services are affordable, sustainable and fair.

I am aware of the issue that the hon. Gentleman raises. In fact, the Chancellor and the Treasury are already in discussion with the Department of Health and Social Care on this very issue. The hon. Gentleman will have noticed that the Chancellor is on the Treasury Bench and has heard his point. I will make sure that we confirm to him what comes out of those discussions.

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will be pleased to await the feasibility report that is pending.

The Government have not been sitting on the sidelines. We have made sure that we have been in touch with all the interested parties. Our prime concern is obviously for the students, whose education is at stake. It is up to the universities, as the employers, to negotiate with the lecturers as the employees. A deal brokered by ACAS is on the table. At the heart of the dispute is the valuation of the pension scheme, and part of the deal is an independent valuation of the pension scheme in the months ahead, which is why I am disappointed that the deal was turned down the next day. I urge all the parties to get together and to keep negotiating to resolve the matter.

Investment decisions in the local government pension scheme are the responsibility of the 90 designated administering authorities in England and Wales and must be taken on the basis of expert advice and in compliance with the Scheme’s regulatory framework. Since 2000, pension fund authorities have been required to publish a statement of investment principles, including their policy on the extent to which social, environmental or ethical considerations are to be taken into account in the selection, retention and realisation of investments. The regulations also require that each statement is published locally.

We have no immediate plans to change these existing obligations, but will keep them under review.

Investment decisions in the local government pension scheme are the responsibility of the 90 designated administering authorities in England and Wales and must be taken on the basis of expert advice and in compliance with the Scheme’s regulatory framework. Since 2000, pension fund authorities have been required to publish a statement of investment principles, including their policy on the extent to which social, environmental or ethical considerations are to be taken into account in the selection, retention and realisation of investments. The regulations also require that each statement is published locally.

We have no immediate plans to change these existing obligations, but will keep them under review.

The Pensions Regulator produces free guidance for trustees via the online Trustee Toolkit. The Trustee Toolkit was updated in October 2014, with new material on the extent to which trustees should take account of social, environmental or ethical considerations when taking investment decisions. This new material reflects the outcomes of the Law Commission’s recent review of fiduciary duties.

My Department has not received any recent representations from the pensions industry on investments in companies linked with the manufacture of cluster munitions. Whilst we have no immediate plans to review this specific area, we are undertaking a consultation on whether the current requirements on trustees regarding “social, environmental or ethical considerations” in the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2015 should be amended to help them distinguish between financial and non-financial factors.

My Department has not received any recent representations from the pensions industry on investments in companies linked with the manufacture of cluster munitions. Whilst we have no immediate plans to review this specific area, we are undertaking a consultation on whether the current requirements on trustees regarding “social, environmental or ethical considerations” in the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2015 should be amended to help them distinguish between financial and non-financial factors.

My Department has not received any recent representations from the pensions industry on investments in companies linked with the manufacture of cluster munitions. Whilst we have no immediate plans to review this specific area, we are undertaking a consultation on whether the current requirements on trustees regarding “social, environmental or ethical considerations” in the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2015 should be amended to help them distinguish between financial and non-financial factors.

My Department has not received any recent representations from the pensions industry on investments in companies linked with the manufacture of cluster munitions. Whilst we have no immediate plans to review this specific area, we are undertaking a consultation on whether the current requirements on trustees regarding “social, environmental or ethical considerations” in the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2015 should be amended to help them distinguish between financial and non-financial factors.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) uses a variety of free and paid for channels to effectively communicate important reforms and how people are affected. The channels used are considered the most effective route to reach key audiences, whilst offering value for money. All advertising spend is scrutinised and agreed through the Cabinet Office. However the specific request can only be provided at disproportionate costs.

If a firefighter is permanently incapacitated so as to be unable to undertake their role

they will be eligible for an ill-health pension. Where a firefighter is not permanently incapacitated, fire and rescue authorities will support a firefighter in regaining their fitness. An independent report found that the vast majority of firefighters who lose their fitness will regain it following remedial training.

The New Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2006 provides fire and rescue authorities with the discretion to pay an unreduced pension to a firefighter having regard to the costs of the case and the economical, efficient and effective management of their functions; the draft Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2015 regulations contain a similar provision. In early June we made an offer to the Fire Brigades Union to work with the employers to develop a common approach to the use of this discretion. The union rejected that offer and announced further strike action. Further details can be found in my letter of 5 June to the Chairmen of Fire and Rescue Authorities at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/318086/Letter_from_Brandon_Lewis_on_strike_action_5_June_2014_2.pdf

I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.

The Government commissioned report “Normal Pension Age for Firefighters” found that there was no reason why every firefighter who stayed physically fit could not remain operational until age 60. It also found that where firefighters do lose their fitness, the vast majority are able to regain their fitness levels following a period of extra training. The report can be found at

http://www.clg.heywood.co.uk/node/658

There is no single fitness standard in fire and rescue authorities and Dr Williams' assessment was based on current practices among fire and rescue authorities.

Fitness regimes are a matter for local fire authorities as employers and no direct changes to this are being made with the 2015 scheme, which has the same pension age of 60 years as the firefighters pension scheme introduced in 2006.

Paragraph 3.3 of the current consultation states that the Department will hold further consultations during 2014 on the governance and transitional arrangements for the firefighter pension reforms.

The current consultation document, which closes on 4 July, can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-regulations-to-introduce-a-new-firefighters-pension-scheme-from-april-2015

and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

[holding answer 31 March 2014]: The Government response to the consultation on employee contribution rates to apply in the Firefighters' Pension Schemes from 1 April 2014 was published on 6 March alongside the amending regulations. The Government response can be found at

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/firefighters-pension-scheme-1992-and-new-firefighters-pension-scheme-2006