Member

I think the difficulty that has arisen is that we lose our focus on the trustees. They are at the heart of the way pension funds are run, and we must appreciate that not all of them can afford to go to the lawyers who have been mentioned in the course of this short debate. The question is how we “clarify” or “promote a better understanding”—I am not quite sure what is the right term. Because at the heart of this is the fiduciary duty. What is the best way of making certain that trustees know, when they come to set an investment policy, that longer-term issues such as sustainability can be taken into account? I do not believe that there is any dispute between competent lawyers that it can be done, but we must get it done. I entirely agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Penn, that this Bill is the place, if statutory powers are required to do it, and we should not put it off any longer.