§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to consult interested parties in England and Wales on proposed changes to the local government pension scheme; and if he will make a statement. [6557]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordA consultation paper is today being issued to local authorities in England and Wales, and to a wide range of other interested parties involved with local authority pensions, which takes forward our intentions to reduce central Government's involvement in the local government pension scheme and, at the same time, to increase the part played by local government in managing its pension responsibilities.
Our proposals would mean that the LGPS remains a public service pension scheme and that local government pensions will continue to be provided within a statutory framework. The benefits provided by the scheme both now and in the future will continue to have full statutory security. At the same time, local authority employers would have more discretion within that framework to develop more flexible pension arrangements and to adopt new pension structures to meet local circumstances.
Proposals are also put forward in the paper to reduce significantly the regulatory content of the current scheme regulations. Consultees are expressly invited to contribute to the Department's efforts to streamline the provision governing the LGPS, to weed out unnecessary and redundant requirements and to make the scheme's provisions more user friendly. Overall, this should mean less regulation and ultimately a reduced level of involvement by the Department in the operation of the scheme.
725WRepresentations on the proposals are requested by March 1996. Draft scheme regulations will be circulated for formal consultation in late 1996 and come into force in early 1997.