Member

Clause 13 sets out how value-for-money assessments may be carried out in practice under the regulation-making powers created by Clause 11. By proposing that Clause 13 does not stand part of the Bill, we are probing how Parliament will be able to scrutinise the exercise of the delegated powers in this part of the Bill. While the Bill establishes a high-level framework for value for money, the detailed processes that trustees and managers must follow when undertaking value-for-money assessments, including the choice of metrics, the selection of comparative schemes or benchmarks and the way comparisons feed into value-for-money ratings, appear to be left largely to regulations and the Pensions Regulator. These are not merely technical matters but substantive policy decisions with significant consequences for scheme behaviour and member outcomes. Will the Minister therefore explain what level of parliamentary scrutiny will apply to the regulations governing the value-for-money assessment methodology, how Parliament will have oversight of benchmarks approved or issued by the Pensions Regulator and what mechanisms will exist to review or revisit the framework if the combined effect of the regulations and guidance produces unintended consequences?