Westminster Comment

Sir Robert Smith MP

Good news on retirement age for Britain's workforce

There was good news last week for those suffering age discrimination at work. My colleague Ed Davey, a Minister in the Department of Business, announced that the Government will legislate to end the right of companies to force an employee to retire at a given age.

This will end the injustice that currently means that when you reach retirement age your employer can force you to cease working no matter how good you are at your job. In such cases there is no right of redress for the loss of your livelihood.

The Government's intention is that the new law will come into force next October. Many people who reach the retirement have built up experience and developed skills that mean they still have much to contribute. The automatic assumption that just because you reach a certain age you have nothing more to offer will end.

There already are enlightened employers who recognise the valuable contribution older employees can make in the workplace. However those employees do not have any protection against unfair treatment at work. This move by the Government will finally change that.

Whilst it is right to end discrimination it is, also, important to recognise that for some older people modern technology is a real challenge. That is why pensions and benefits are still paid by cheque to those who are unable to use newer banking processes. These cheques are currently cashed at the local Post Office.

I recently highlighted in Parliament the importance of the Post Office network. I did this because the current cheque based system was put out to tender before the election by the Department of Work and Pensions. I want to ensure that whatever system wins the tender it recognises that for many the rural Post Office is the only local outlet that people can easily get their cash from.

For many constituents the demise of Equitable Life caused them considerable financial loss in their retirement. They had set aside their own savings to prepare for retirement and lost out. For many years now they have been seeking compensation for the losses attributed to bad regulation of the company. The Parliamentary Ombudsman made a clear ruling that failures of regulation should be compensated for.

Whilst the new Government are a step closer to bringing in a compensation scheme I highlighted concerns as to how that compensation is to be calculated. A recent report from Professor Chadwick commissioned by the last Government has calculated a very low level of compensation.

Having gone through a lot of processes calculating how much loss can be put down to regulatory failure he then cuts the figure to a quarter of that amount. His logic is that investors would have still invested even if they knew of the regulatory failure. The Treasury are now taking submissions from those who disagree with the calculations

produced in the Chadwick report. The Ombudsman herself has highlighted concerns about the calculation.

Given the losses suffered by the victims of the Lockerbie bombing it is understandable that questions are asked why the only person convicted of that terrible crime is now at liberty. Abdel-baset al-Megrahi dropped his appeal. That means he still stands convicted and has not sought to overturn that conviction. He was released on compassionate grounds.

The decision to release him was taken by a Scottish Government Minister answerable to the Scottish Parliament for his actions. In democracies Ministers have to be answerable to the people they serve and not to other country's parliaments.

Those other countries Governments have every right through diplomatic channels to make representations. There would be an outcry in the US if a foreign parliament's committee sort to take evidence from a member of their Government.

Sir Robert Smith MP

6th August 2010