Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)

I am grateful to the Minister for his response and for answering the questions that I posed—I think there were only one or two, but, again, I will check Hansard for my questions and his responses. The Committee will be pleased to know that I have little to add to what I said earlier, but I would like to reiterate a broader point. The more clarity we can place in the Bill and the more we can place clearly on the record, the greater the certainty we will provide to trustees, funds and employers about changes to a landscape that profoundly shapes how they operate and discharge their responsibilities. In this very short debate, I was particularly grateful for the points made by my noble friend Lord Fuller, backed up by my noble friend Lady Noakes. I appreciated my noble friend Lord Fuller’s focus, which it is important for the Committee to put, on what pension fund administrators actually have to do, and he was quite right to highlight the breadth and detail required in undertaking the role. That leads me nicely on to answer a question raised by the noble Viscount, Lord Thurso, on Amendment 22. I will need to check, but my understanding is that when it comes to the role of a pension fund administrator, management includes handling risks. The question is how we define “handling”. My understanding is that it includes how risks are identified, assessed and kept under review, but it is quite possible that there is somebody above that level who takes full responsibility. Otherwise, my understanding is that it involves handling both the risk register and how risk is assessed and decided on in providing a return to investors, but I will investigate and come back to the noble Viscount. In concluding, although today we might be debating definitions and interpretation, I have no doubt that those affected by this legislation are following our proceedings closely and are keen for as much clarity as possible from the Government on definitions, duties and responsibilities. For that reason, I would very much welcome any further clarification the Minister is able to give the Committee throughout our subsequent proceedings on the questions we raise on these matters. That would provide reassurance not only to this Committee but to those beyond it who are looking to these proceedings for guidance and certainty. I finish by saying that that really is true, in that we have been in touch with a number of third parties and those in the industry, and many of the comments made today and on Monday absolutely reflect their issues and concerns. With that, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.