HL Deb 25 July 1989 vol 510 cc1354-7

Power to amend scheme

1.—(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations amending the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme (in this Schedule referred to as "the scheme") for any of the following purposes, namely—

  1. (a) for enabling the following persons to participate in or acquire pension rights under the scheme on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed, namely—
    1. (i) members and former members of existing bodies;
    2. (ii) officers and former officers of the Electricity Consumers' Council; and
    3. (iii) persons (other than successor companies) whose participation in the scheme will not prejudice its approval for the purposes of the relevant enactments, and employees of such persons;
  2. (b) for requiring any persons (including persons not participating in the scheme) to make payments to the trustees of the scheme in such circumstances as may be prescribed;
    3. 1355
  3. (c) for requiring or enabling any functions exercisable under the scheme by existing bodies to be exercisable by such persons, and in such circumstances, as may be prescribed;
  4. (d) for enabling the scheme to be wound up (in whole or in part) in such circumstances as may be prescribed; and
  5. (e) for securing that the scheme continues to be approved for the purposes of the relevant enactments, notwithstanding the transfers made by this Act and the repeal by this Act of section 54 of the Electricity Act 1947.

(2) Regulations under this paragraph may make such supplemental, consequential and transitional provision as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

(3) Regulations under this paragraph may be made so as to have effect from a date prior to their making, so however that so much of any regulations as provides that any provision of regulations shall have effect from a date prior to their making shall not place any person other than existing bodies or Scottish Boards, or their successor companies, in a worse position than he would have been in if the regulations had been made to have effect only from the date of their making.

(4) Regulations under this paragraph shall not be made at any time after any supply or generating company has ceased to be wholly owned by the Crown.

Protection for certain persons

2.—(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations for the purpose of securing that—

  1. (a) no person to whom paragraph 3(1) or (2) below applies is placed in any worse position by reason of—
    1. (i) any winding up, in whole or in part, of a relevant scheme, that is to say, the scheme or any other scheme which is provided or amended in pursuance of the regulations; or
    2. (ii) any amendment of a relevant scheme which results in benefits under that scheme being reduced, or contributions by employees being increased, and is made otherwise than in such circumstances as may be prescribed;
  2. (b) no person to whom paragraph 3(1) below applies is prevented from continuing to participate in or acquire pension rights under the scheme by reason of any change of employer—
    1. (i) which does not affect his continuity of employment and is made otherwise than in such circumstances as may be prescribed; and
    2. (ii) in the case of which his new employer either is a participant in the scheme or is wholly owned by one or more companies which or each of which is such a participant; and
  3. (c) no person to whom paragraph 3(1) below applies is placed in any worse position by reason of any change of employer which does not affect his continuity of employment but prevents him from continuing to participate in or acquire pension rights under a relevant scheme;
and the references in paragraphs (a) and (c) above to any worse position shall be construed, in relation to a person to whom paragraph 3(1) below applies who, after the transfer date, ceases to participate in or acquire pension rights under the scheme, as references to a position which is any worse than his position immediately before he so ceases.

(2) Regulations under this paragraph may impose duties (whether as to the amendment of the scheme, the provision or amendment of other schemes, the purchase of annuities, the making of payments or otherwise) on persons who are or have been employers of persons to whom paragraphs 3(1) or (2) below applies; and duties so imposed on any person may include duties owed to persons of whom he is not and has not been an employer.

(3) Regulations under this paragraph may also provide for any dispute arising under them to be referred to arbitration.

(4) Sub-paragraphs (2) and (4) of paragraph 1 above shall apply for the purposes of this paragraph as they apply for the purposes of that paragraph.

3.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (3) below, this sub-paragraph applies to—

  1. (a) any existing employee who, immediately before the transfer date, is a participant in the scheme;
  2. (b) any existing employee who, after that date, participates in the scheme within three months of his attaining the minimum age for such participation;
  3. (c) any former participant who, after that date, participates in or acquires pension rights under the scheme in such circumstances as may be prescribed by regulations under paragraph 2 above; and
  4. (d) any person who participates in the scheme in pursuance of regulations made under paragraph 1(1)(a)(i) or (ii) above.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3) below, this sub-paragraph applies, to—

  1. (a) any person not falling within sub-paragraph (1)(c) above who, immediately before the transfer date, is not a participant in the scheme but has pension rights under the scheme; and
  2. (b) any person who, after that date, acquires pension rights under a relevant scheme by reason of the death of a person falling within sub-paragraph (1) or paragraph (a) above,
but only as respects the pension rights by virtue of which he falls within paragraph (a) or (b) above.

(3) Any person to whom sub-paragraph (1) or (2) above applies may elect in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations under paragraph 2 above that that sub-paragraph shall cease to apply to him; and if any person to whom sub-paragraph (1) above applies—

  1. (a) ceases to be in continuous employment; or
  2. (b) voluntarily withdraws from a relevant scheme,
otherwise than in such circumstances as may be so prescribed, that sub-paragraph shall cease to apply to him except as respects pension rights which have accrued to him before that time.

4.—(1) So much of Schedule 13 to the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 as has effect for the purpose of ascertaining whether any employment is continuous shall apply for the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3 as if—

  1. (a) those paragraphs were contained in that Act; and
  2. (b) in that Schedule "associated employer", in relation to a company participating in a relevant scheme, included any other company participating in such a scheme and any other company of which a company so participating has control, or two or more companies so participating together have control;
but regulations under paragraph 2 above may provide that no account shall be taken for those purposes of any person ceasing to be in continous employment for such periods and in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the regulations.

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) above, a company has control, or two or more companies together have control, of another company ("the other company") if—

  1. (a) that company, or each of those companies, is a member of the other company and that company controls, or those companies together control, the composition of the other company's board of directors;
  2. (b) that company holds, or those companies together hold, more than half in nominal value of the other company's equity share capital;
  3. (c) a company of which the company has control, or those companies together have control, has control of the other company; or
  4. (d) two or more companies of which that company has control, or those companies together have control, has control of the other company;
and subsections (2) to (4) of section 736 of the Companies Act 1985 (as originally enacted) shall, with any necessary modifications, apply for the purposes of this sub-paragraph as they apply for purposes of subsection (1) of that section.

Interpretation

5.—(1) In this Schedule— Consultative Council" means a Consultative Council established under section 7 of the Electricity Act 1947 for the area of an Area Board; employer", in relation to a person employed by a company which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of another company, includes that other company; existing body" means any of the following, namely, the Area Boards, the Generating Board and the Electricity Council; existing employee" means any person who, immediately before the transfer date, is employed by an existing body or a Consultative Council, or falls to be treated as employed by an existing body by virtue of regulations made under section 54(4) of the Electricity Act 1947 (service as a member to count as service as an employee); former participant" means any person who, immediately before the transfer date, is not a participant in the scheme but has pension rights under the scheme by virtue of his having been such a participant; pension", in relation to any person, means a pension of any kind payable to or in respect of him, and includes a lump sum, allowance or gratuity so payable and a return of contributions, with or without interest or any other addition; pension rights", in relation to any person, includes—

  1. (a) all forms of right to or eligibility for the present or future payment of a pension to or in respect of him; and
  2. (b) any expectation of the accruer of a pension to or in respect of him;
and includes a right of allocation in respect of the present or future payment of a pension; 'the relevant enactments" means Chapter I of Part XIV of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (retirement benefit schemes) and Part III of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 (contracted-out pension schemes); relevant scheme" has the meaning given by paragraph 2(1) above; the scheme" has the meaning given by paragraph 1(1) above; wholly-owned subsidiary" has the same meaning as in the Companies Act 1985.

(2) For the purposes of this Schedule, a company is wholly owned by one or more other companies if it has no members except—

  1. (a) that other or those others and its or their nominees; and
  2. (b) wholly-owned subsidiaries of that other or those others and their nominees.

(3) Subject to sub-paragraph (1) above, expressions used in this Schedule which are also used in Part I or II of this Act have the same meanings as in that Part."

25 The Commons agreed to the above amendment with the following amendment— In paragraph 4(2)(d), leave out second "has" and insert "together have".

Lord Sanderson of Bowden

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 25 to the Lords Amendment No. 24. This concerns a minor drafting error. The correction has been made in the amendment. I beg to move.

Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 25 to the Lords Amendment No. 24. —(Lord Sanderson of Bowden.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

Forward to