Pensions Bill

moved Amendment No. 27: 27: Clause 33, page 30, line 9, at end insert— ““( ) In discharging its function under this section, the Authority shall ensure that its actions and advice support the objective of the scheme under subsection (2)(a) that all investments held for the purposes of the scheme are managed in accordance with what appears to the Authority to be industry best practice relating to the responsibilities of institutional shareholders and their agents in relation to shareholder activism, including any principles governing intervention in an investee company on account of its approach to corporate social responsibility.”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, I shall speak also to Amendment No. 28. The points mentioned in the amendments are designed to ensure that the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority operates in the best interests of members, but without being prescriptive. It is reasonable that these amendments should be made to incorporate these important principles into the scheme and the delivery authority from the outset. It is also important that the points are included now in order that the ability of the potential delivery authority personnel to deliver against such objectives is considered when they are being recruited. These amendments seek to ensure that the issues central to the benefit of scheme members are put on to the agenda while quite rightly leaving the delivery authority to decide how to fulfil its responsibilities to members. Moreover, I imagine that it would be uncontroversial to suggest that the investment strategy should be in the best interests of members, that members will be given choice, or that the charges are fair and reasonable. There is another important point in favour of the amendments. As we all know because we have discussed it many times, one of the problems is that people are simply not saving enough for pension provision. We all know why this happens; often people are expected to save for pensions at a time in their lives when they have a number of other expenses. Another reason why some people have been reluctant to put money into pension schemes is that in recent years there have been a number of problems with pension provision and a number of scandals. The result has been that trust in pension schemes has, to some extent, been eroded and people are often reluctant to put their money where they do not feel it is going to be safe and secure. The amendments would ensure transparency; that members’ interests are paramount; and that when they invest in a personal account scheme they can be confident that their money will be safe and that they are likely not to have any worries about it. I hope my noble friend will look with favour on the amendments or, if he does not like the wording, perhaps come back with something different at a later stage of the Bill. I beg to move.