The Committee deliberated.

* * * * *

Ordered, That the Chairman do write to the Leader of the House to indicate the Committee's interest in holding pre-legislative hearings on the draft Bill on pension sharing on divorce.

[Adjourned till Thursday 23 October at half-past Ten o'clock.

The Committee deliberated.

Resolved, That Ms Maggie Rae be appointed a specialist adviser to the Committee in respect of pension sharing after divorce.

* * * * *

[Adjourned till Wednesday 4 March at half-past Ten o'clock.

The Committee deliberated.

Resolved, That Mr Allan Martin be appointed a specialist adviser to the Committee in relation to pension sharing after divorce.

* * * * *

[Adjourned till Tuesday 7 April at a quarter to Four o'clock.

The Committee deliberated.

   Mr John Denham, a Member of the House, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Social Security, Mr Christopher Evans, Pensions on Divorce Team, Department of Social Security, and Mr William Arnold, Family Law Division, Lord Chancellor's Department, examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 1 July at half-past Ten o'clock.

The Committee deliberated.

* * * * *

Rt Hon Lord Justice Thorpe, a Lord Justice of Appeal, examined.

The Chairman declared his interest as a non-practising member of the Law Society of Scotland.

Rt Hon Lord Justice Thorpe further examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 7 July at half-past Ten o'clock.

The Committee deliberated.

Mr Peter Murray, Chairman, Mr Peter Thompson, Chairman, Benefits Committee, and Mrs Jane Marshall, Member of Regulatory Standing Group, National Association of Pension Funds, examined.

Mr Laurie Edmans, Chairman, Pensions Committee, Mr Brian Arrighi, Pensions Committee, and Mr Jonathan Black, Pensions Divorce Group, Association of British Insurers, examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 14 July at 11.30 am.

The Committee deliberated.

Mr Martin Pointer QC, Family Law Bar Association, examined.

[Adjourned till to-morrow at half-past Ten o'clock.

The Committee deliberated.

Mrs Hilary Siddle, Chairman, Family Law Committee, Mr Robin Ellison and Mrs Diane Burleigh, Deputy Director, Policy Directorate, Law Society, examined.

Mr David Davidson, Mr Richard Sax and Mr David Salter, Solicitors' Family Law Association, examined.

The Chairman declared a non-pecuniary interest as a non-practising member of the Law Society of Scotland.

Mr Iain Talman, Convenor, Pensions Law Working Party, and Mr Kenneth Robb, Convenor, Family Law Committee, Law Society of Scotland, examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 21 July at Two o'clock.

The Committee deliberated.

Mr Martin Slack, Chairman of Current Issues Committee of the Pensions Board, Mr Simon Martin, Member of the Current Issues Committee of the Pensions Board, and Mr Andrew Scott, Member of the Pensions and Divorce Working Party, Faculty and Institute of Actuaries, examined.

Ms Joanne Segars, Pensions Officer, Mr Tony Young, General Council spokesperson on pensions and senior deputy general secretary of the Communications Workers Union, and Ms Rita Donaghy, Member of General Council and Women's Committee, Trades Union Congress, examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 29 July at half-past Ten o'clock.

The Committee deliberated.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 16th September at half-past Ten o'clock.

The Committee deliberated.

Mrs Sallie Quin and Mrs Mary Sinfield, Fairshares, examined.

Mr Jim Parton, Mr Ian MacKay and Mr Bruce Wilson, Families Need Fathers, examined.

[Adjourned till this day at a quarter past Two o'clock.

The Committee deliberated.

   Mr John Denham, a Member of the House, Minister of State for Social Security, Mr Christopher Evans, Policy Manager, Pensions on Divorce Team, Department of Social Security, and Mr William Arnold, Family Law Division, Lord Chancellor's Department, examined.

[Adjourned till a date and time to be fixed by the Chairman.

The Committee deliberated.

Draft Report (Pensions on Divorce), proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Ordered, That the draft Report be read a second time, paragraph by paragraph.

Paragraph 1 read as follows:

This Report marks a milestone in the modernisation of Parliament. For the first time a departmentally related Select Committee has been able to hold an inquiry into a draft Bill published in the session prior to its First Reading. The Pension Sharing Bill was the first of the Bills which the Government hoped to publish in draft to see the light of the day. The Ministers and officials of the Department of Social Security (the lead Department) and the several other Departments involved (notably the Lord Chancellor's Department, the Scottish Office and the Inland Revenue) deserve to be congratulated on taking this important step towards improving the quality of legislation. We compliment the previous Secretary of State for Social Security, Rt Hon Harriet Harman, and the former Leader of the House, Rt Hon Ann Taylor, for their close interest and support for our inquiry piloting the pre-legislative scrutiny of draft Bills.

Amendment proposed, in line 8, at the end, to insert the words "We feel that a useful addition to parliamentary scrutiny would be if select committees conducting a pre-legislative scrutiny could amend the Bills before them; if the Government wished to overturn the select committee's amendments, it could do so in Standing Committee."— (Mr Edward Leigh.)

Question proposed, That the Amendment be made:— Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Paragraphs 2 to 8 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 9 read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 10 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 11 read as follows:

The DSS has published two Research Reports on women, pensions and divorce which showed that women in younger age groups were more likely to belong to occupational pension schemes, indicating that the problem of dependent spouses with no pension entitlement of their own may be on the decline. Nevertheless, for many couples the occupational or personal pension entitlement is modest even when only a single household is considered. Sharing this entitlement over two households may result in inadequate pension coverage for both ex-partners. Many individuals simply do not earn enough to support two families and to maintain the living standards they were accustomed to before establishing a new marriage or partnership. A survey carried out in 1997 found evidence of unfairness with regard to divorce settlements which failed to take proper - or indeed any - account of the value of pensions: "At the time of divorce, many women may be too traumatised to be able to assert their rights, which once again highlights the need to take steps to achieve independence early in adult life." A study of the relatively low incomes of women warned that pension sharing "cannot be a panacea to make up for the small pensions of many women, particularly mothers, whose domestic responsibilities reduce their access to good jobs and good pension schemes."

Amendment proposed, in line 12, at the end, to insert the words "We believe that the Government should issue a double 'health warning' when bringing forward the Pension Sharing Bill. First, just as with the CSA, there may be a backlash from men who may find the pension they are left with after divorce insufficient. Secondly, because of the extreme administrative burdens imposed on the pensions industry, desirable final salary schemes are under pressure at the moment and the pension sharing reforms could put them further at risk."— (Mr Edward Leigh.)

Question proposed, That the Amendment be made:— Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Paragraphs 12 and 13 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 14 read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraph 15 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 16 read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraph 17 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 18 read as follows:

We recommend that a provision should be inserted into the Bill that the powers conferred under it should lapse on the tenth anniversary of its coming into force. This 'sunset' provision is intended to ensure that Parliament will be given a further opportunity by primary legislation to extend or amend the pension sharing legislation.

Paragraph disagreed to.

Paragraphs 19 to 24 (now paragraphs 18 to 23) read and agreed to.

Paragraph 25 (now paragraph 24) read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 26 to 29 (now paragraphs 25 to 28) read and agreed to.

Paragraphs 30 to 32 (now paragraphs 29 to 31) read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 33 to 35 (now paragraphs 32 to 34) read and agreed to.

Paragraph 36 (now paragraph 35) read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 37 to 39 (now paragraphs 36 to 38) read and agreed to.

Paragraph 40 (now paragraph 39) read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 41 to 45 (now paragraphs 40 to 44) read and agreed to.

Paragraph 46 (now paragraph 45) read, amended and agreed to.  

Paragraph 47 (now paragraph 46) read and agreed to.

Paragraph 48 (now paragraph 47) read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 49 and 50 (now paragraphs 48 and 49) read and agreed to.

Paragraph 51 (now paragraph 50) read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 52 and 53 (now paragraphs 51 and 52) read and agreed to.

Paragraphs 54 and 55 (now paragraphs 53 and 54) read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 56 to 59 (now paragraphs 55 to 58) read and agreed to.

Paragraph 60 (now paragraph 59) read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 61 and 62 (now paragraphs 60 and 61) read and agreed to.

Paragraph 63 (now paragraph 62) read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 64 to 70 (now paragraphs 63 to 69) read and agreed to.

Paragraph 71 (now paragraph 70) read, amended and agreed to.

Paragraphs 72 to 79 (now paragraphs 71 to 78) read and agreed to.

Annex agreed to.

Resolved, That the Report be the Fifth Report of the Committee to the House.

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the House.

Ordered, That the provisions of Standing Order No. 134 (Select committees(reports)) be applied to the Report.

Several Papers were ordered to be appended to the Minutes of Evidence.

Ordered, That the Appendices to the Minutes of Evidence taken before the Committee be reported to the House.-(The Chairman.)

Several memoranda were ordered to be reported to the House.