GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN'S REPORT ON OCCUPATIONAL PENSIONS AND APPLICATION FOR TEMPORAL LIMITATION

Early day motion 2557, tabled 13 July 2006 by Paul Holmes (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 54 members.

That this House condemns the Government's response to the occupational pension crisis that will plunge into poverty at retirement many thousands of workers who lost their pensions between 1997 and 5th April 2005 despite having trusted Government reassurances that their pensions were `safe and guaranteed'; believes that the Government should not have dismissed out of hand the Ombudsman's Report which found maladministration and called for compensation; recognises the inadequacy of the Financial Assistance Scheme which is underfunded and has so far only paid out to 100 people; deplores the disgraceful way in which Government lawyers have sought a temporal limitation which, if it is approved by the Advocate General, possibly as early as 13th July 2006, will deprive many of these pensioners of compensation which would otherwise be due to them if the Community and AMICUS unions win the court case they have taken to the European Court of Justice; and calls on the Government to withdraw its application for temporal limitation and to accept the Ombudsman's findings.

Signatures by party: Liberal Democrat 43, Labour 3, Conservative 2, Plaid Cymru 2, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, DUP 1, UUP 1.