§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2004,Official Report , columns 1356–57W, on SERCO-Denholm, whether it is his policy that the pension rights of these workers should be equivalent to the pension rights that they would have obtained had they remained in the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme throughout their period of employment with the new employer; and if he will make a statement. [187832]
§ Mr. Caplin[holding answer 8 September 2004]: The transfer of Ministry of Defence employees to SERCO-Denholm, following the Marine Services Market Test, reflected the accepted practice at that time, namely that the pension scheme would be broadly comparable to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme at the point of transfer. Subsequently, the policy was changed under the Government's code of practice entitled 'Transfer of Government Staff: A Fair Deal for Pensions', which was issued in 1999 and expanded in June 2004. When Government employees are transferred under the 'Fair Deal' policy, a broadly comparable scheme and bulk transfer terms have to be considered in any second and subsequent generation transfers.