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1257886

registered interest
date	02/12/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Arcadia Group: Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to ask the Pensions Regulator to investigate (1) the competence, (2) the conduct, and (3) the decisions, of the trustees of the various Arcadia pensions schemes.
tabling member printed	Lord Myners
uin	HL11040
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2020 answer text <p>The Pensions Regulator is an independent body. The Honorable Lord can refer back to the statement made by the Secretary of State for BEIS in December. The Pensions Regulator has a range of powers to protect pension schemes, and it works closely with other organisations who are addressing the Arcadia business. The Pension Schemes Bill currently progressing through Parliament includes measures to enhance these powers and includes improvements to assist with investigations.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 09/12/2020 17:05:13 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	3869 label Biography information for Lord Myners

1200372

registered interest
date	03/06/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Arcadia Group: Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government whether Ministers or senior officials at the Department for Work and Pensions have had meetings in the last 3 months with the trustees, scheme sponsors or advisers to Arcadia Group pension schemes in respect of funding and funding commitments supporting these schemes.
tabling member printed	Lord Myners
uin	HL5227
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2020 answer text <p>There have been no meetings between Ministers or senior officials at the Department for Work and Pensions and trustees, scheme sponsors or advisers to the Arcadia Group pension schemes in respect of funding and funding commitments supporting these schemes.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 16/06/2020 14:52:24 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	3869 label Biography information for Lord Myners

1131476

registered interest
date	11/06/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Arcadia Group: Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Pensions Regulator (1) regarded an additional payment into the Arcadia Pension Fund to be an adequate contribution to the deficit, and (2) supported the Company Voluntary Arrangements proposed by Sir Philip and Lady Green; and if so, why.
tabling member printed	Lord Myners
uin	HL16270
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>The best support for a defined benefit pension scheme is an ongoing trading employer. Working with the shareholders, pension trustees and Pension Protection Fund, The Pensions Regulator were pleased to be able to agree a £310m package of support last week that would provide greater certainty for the Arcadia pension schemes. This comprises security to the value of £210m, together with the £100m in cash from Lady Green. The Pensions Regulator remain satisfied that the arrangement is the right one for members and the Pension Protection Fund in challenging circumstances and is equitable in the context of the wider Company Voluntary Arrangements process.</p><p> </p><p>The Pension Regulator’s goal is to protect the interests of members of the Arcadia schemes as far as possible in these difficult circumstances. A successful outcome will mean ongoing Deficit repair contributions payments from the company, enabling the schemes to become fully funded in due course. Had the Company Voluntary Arrangement votes failed, or if the Company Voluntary Arrangements are successfully challenged, the position of the pension schemes would be/will be much less certain. Deficit repair contributions from Arcadia Group Limited, initially £25m per annum (paid in equal monthly instalments) and escalating in subsequent years, would cease. The amount recovered by the pension schemes would be significantly less in an uncontrolled insolvency than under the terms of the Company Voluntary Arrangement. On this basis The Pensions Regulator supported the Company Voluntary Arrangement.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 24/06/2019 14:30:41 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	3869 label Biography information for Lord Myners

1130843

registered interest
date	10/06/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Arcadia Group: Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Pensions Regulator has allowed the owners of Arcadia Group to phase their contribution to address that company’s pension deficit over a period of time instead of a single up-front payment; whether the Pensions Regulator is using financial advisers to determine whether Arcadia’s business plan will eventually cover the deficit; and if so, who are those advisers.
tabling member printed	Lord Myners
uin	HL16210
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>The pensions framework established by Parliament in the Pensions Act 2004 sets out that ongoing employers may address the funding of their scheme deficits over a reasonable period of time. This responsibility falls on the company rather than its owners, other than where The Pensions Regulator has used its anti-avoidance powers. This approach of spreading funding of deficits was established to balance the needs of schemes with those of their sponsoring employers.</p><p> </p><p>The Arcadia trustees and the Arcadia group took an approach which was similar to many other schemes and employers in establishing recovery plans to address their schemes’ deficits over a number of years. In response to a request to vary those recovery plan payments, made in conjunction with the Arcadia Group’s Company Voluntary Arrangements proposals, The Pensions Regulator, working alongside the trustees and the Pension Protection Fund, has negotiated robustly to secure an enhanced package of support for the pension schemes in connection with a successful Company Voluntary Arrangement, worth significantly more than would be received if the Company Voluntary Arrangement is not successful and Arcadia Group Ltd becomes insolvent. This represents appropriate protection, in challenging circumstances, and is equitable in the context of the wider Company Voluntary Arrangements process.</p><p> </p><p>In assessing the turnaround plan presented by Arcadia, The Pensions Regulator has been informed by the analysis carried out by professional advisers to the trustees. The Pensions Regulator has considerable expertise in restructuring situations and this includes people in its regulatory teams with a background working in big chartered accountancy firms and restructuring operations in banks.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 24/06/2019 11:44:23 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	3869 label Biography information for Lord Myners