My Lords, I think that we have covered this in some measure. I have a series of probing amendments to understand just a little more about the scheme and what is intended. Amendment 2 concerns the pension scheme. In the impact assessment, the commission set out that there is a Crown guarantee in respect of the scheme’s liability—we have just heard about that—which avoids the potential early crystallisation of long-term liabilities of the scheme. It is suggested that this would enable the scheme to be run on as a closed funded scheme in future. However, it suggests that this is just one of the options considered. Perhaps the Minister could outline what others are on the table.
The impact assessment explains that CLG has sought key protections and influence over the scheme to work with the trustees to minimise liabilities and/or manage them in line with the department’s method of financial planning and priorities. Will the Minister say more about this, including the extent to which the trustees of the scheme are being enjoined to minimise liabilities or manage them in line with CLG’s, not the members’, wider financial planning and priorities? I should also be grateful if the Minister could let us know how the Crown guarantee in these circumstances features, if at all, in public expenditure figures.