§ The Lord ChancellorMy Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time.
This Bill consolidates the Orders in Council under Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974 relating to private occupational and personal pension schemes, other than those relating to the treatment of such schemes for taxation purposes. The earliest of these orders to be consolidated in the Bill goes back to 1973, and the volume of legislation on this topic since then makes a consolidation of this kind highly desirable.
The Bill contains a number of corrections and minor improvements to the existing law which are needed in order to facilitate the consolidation. These are contained in a memorandum which I laid before Parliament on 6th May this year pursuant to the Consolidation of Enactments (Procedure) Act 1949. This memorandum, which will be considered by the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills, is similar in purpose to the reports of the Law Commissions which often recommend minor amendments to the existing law in order to achieve a satisfactory consolidation.
If your Lordships are content to give the Bill a Second Reading, it will be referred in the usual way to the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills.
§ Moved, That the Bill be now read a second time. —(The Lord Chancellor.)
§ On Question, Bill read a second time, and referred to the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills.