Government Must Act after Ombudsman's Damning Report

6.00.00pm GMT Wed 15th Mar 2006

Responding to the publication of the Parliamentary Ombudsman's report into the Government's handling of occupational pensions, which finds the Government guilty of maladministration, Liberal Democrat MP Annette Brooke said:

"The Ombudsman's report is a damning account of the Government's mishandling of occupational pensions, and the Government's response beggars belief. To reject the Ombudsman's recommendations out of hand after she has described the Government's handling of occupational pensions as inaccurate, incomplete, unclear and inconsistent is staggering.

"What is the point of having an Ombudsman if the Government simply tramples over her recommendations in this way? Thousands of people had looked to the Parliamentary Ombudsman for justice, but the Chancellor and the Secretary of State seem determined to ignore her recommendations and hope that the problem will simply go away.

"The Government must accept that adequate compensation must now be paid to those who have lost their pensions. The Financial Assistance Scheme must now be fundamentally improved and brought into line with the levels of compensation provided by the Pension Protection Fund. This is the least required from the Government if it is to behave with any degree of decency."

ENDS