§ Mr. Patrick Jenkinasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he intends to make use of the powers in sections 144 and 145 of the Social Security Act 1975 to examine the private files of private pension funds.
§ Mr. OrmeIf the usual channels of correspondence are ineffective it may be necessary for the Department's inspectors to consult the contribution and membership records of a contracted-out pension scheme for two purposes—first, to confirm whether or not a particular employee is in contracted-out employment by virtue of his membership of the scheme; secondly, if a scheme ceases to contract out, to establish its liabilities for State scheme premiums.
If a private pension scheme is itself an employer, it is subject to normal inspection for national insurance purposes as are all other employers and self-employed persons.