Pensions Bill

moved Amendment No. 20: 20: Schedule 6, page 67, line 37, leave out sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) and insert— ““(1) The Authority may— (a) pay to the chairman and other non-executive members such remuneration, and (b) pay to or in respect of the chairman and other non-executive members such sums by way of or in respect of allowances and gratuities, as the Secretary of State may determine.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, I made it clear in Committee that we would look again at the provisions that enable the authority to pay non-executive pensions. The provisions were included originally because the remuneration requirements for delivery authority members had not been finalised, and it was therefore prudent to ensure that the provisions had maximum flexibility while the remuneration proposals were being developed. The existing provisions ensure that the authority can, but does not have to, pay non-executive members sums in respect of pensions. The noble Baroness rightly pointed out in our earlier debates that it is unusual for non-executives to receive pension provision, and the Cabinet Office guidelines in Making and Managing Public Appointments also make it clear that most public appointments are not pensionable. On reflection, we agree with the noble Baroness. Amendments Nos. 20, 22, 24 and 25 therefore remove the provisions for non-executive pensions and tidy up the remaining remuneration provisions. In Committee, the noble Baroness also expressed concern about the inclusion of gratuities. Her amendment seeks to remove the provisions that enable gratuities to be paid to non-executive members. We have carefully considered the points that she made, and I am inclined to agree with her that the language sounds a little Victorian. I assure her, however, that we will not be tipping the non-executive members, as she suggested in Committee. The language may seem old-fashioned, but I assure her that the term ““allowances and gratuities”” is used frequently in legislation for statutory bodies of this kind, such as the Serious Organised Crime Agency in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, the Strategic Rail Authority, Natural England, the Pension Protection Fund, the Pensions Regulator, the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, and the Olympic Delivery Authority—also to my surprise. Gratuities in this sense are taken as payments that are not covered by the terms and conditions of the appointment of non-executives. A gratuity might, for example, be a payment for additional work that has not been specified, or it might cover a settlement in respect of actual or prospective legal claims that the office holder may bring against the appointing body on grounds, for example, of personal injury. In these circumstances, there is merit in retaining the flexibility for payment of gratuities to non-executives. I hope that the noble Baroness is reassured that we have listened carefully to the points that she has made and that, although we have removed pension provision for non-executives, we seek to retain the provisions for the payment of allowances and gratuities. I beg to move.