Finance Bill

Before I turn to alternatively secured pensions, I shall speak briefly about Government amendment No. 33, which makes a minor change to the pension commencement lump sum rules included in schedule 20. One of the technical improvements in schedule 20 will allow more time for the tax-free pension commencement lump sum to be paid, and to allow it to be paid after a member has reached age 75, if the entitlement to that lump sum arose before that age. However, the published Bill omitted a consequential amendment to a regulation-making power in the Finance Act 2004, with unintended and potentially adverse results. Government amendment No. 33 will be welcomed by the industry, because it allows the regulations to continue to operate as originally intended. I am sure that the proposal will be uncontroversial for most hon. Members. I turn now to ASPs, the subject of amendments Nos. 44 to 49 and one I spoke about at length in our debate on pension term assurance during the Committee of the whole House. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the Committee stage, as I had to attend the ECOFIN meeting in Brussels—