§ 2.50 p.m.
THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE, HOME OFFICE (LORD STONHAN)My Lords, I beg to move that the Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 1967, a draft of which was laid before your Lordships on February 21, be approved. I will not detain the House for long in introducing this small amendment to the Police Pensions Regulations 1966. It is consequential upon the Lincolnshire Police Amalgamation Scheme 1967 which was approved on February 4, and comes into operation on April 1 next. On April 1 the police forces for the existing three divisions of Lincolnshire, that is, the Parts of Holland, Kesteven and Lindsey, and the police forces for Grimsby and Lincoln will be amalgamated.
Police pensions matters in the separate police forces for the three divisions of Lincolnshire have been managed through what has been known as the Lincolnshire Joint Police Superannuation Fund, and the Police Pensions Regulations have made special provision in respect of this arrangement. Currently this special provision is contained in Regulation 96 289 of the Police Pensions Regulations 1966. No similar arrangements operate in any other group of police forces.
On amalgamation the combined police authority will administer police pensions matters for the whole of the newly created force and the existing arrangements in Lincolnshire will cease to operate. But in these changed circumstances it will be necessary, for the purposes of the Police Pensions Regulations, for the former separate forces for the three divisions of Lincolnshire to be treated as though they had been one force. The amending Regulations now before the House make the necessary provision by substituting a new Regulation for the existing Regulation 96 in the 1966 Regulations. The amendment has been agreed by the Police Council for Great Britain.
§ LORD DERWENTMy Lords, of course we approve these Regulations, although I am not sure that I fully understand them. I think the position is that until now there has been a private fund; that this private fund now comes into line with the rest of the police pensions (I hope I am right about that), and the noble Lord will not have to come to us again in regard to any other police force to do what he is doing now. If that is correct, I am glad to know it, because I was not quite clear.
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, I am sorry if I did not make it quite clear. The noble Lord, Lord Derwent, is correct. This is a voluntary fund. It is the only one—the one new lamb—and we shall not be coming back with similar Orders in future. So far as the necessity for it is concerned, there are at present, apart from Lincoln and Grimsby, three: police forces for Lincolnshire and, as it happens, only one chief constable; they all have the same chief constable. Nevertheless, the consolidation measure, which had the noble Lord's full approval, came into operation on January 1. These three county forces were not amalgamated until February 4, so we could not bring this in last year. We had to wait until they were amalgamated to bring it in now.
§ LORD DERWENTI am obliged to the noble Lord.
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.