Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme Committee, 18 Sep 2007

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Official Report 138KB pdf

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Interests

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the first meeting of the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme Committee. I remind all members to switch off mobile phones and other noisy devices. I am chairing the meeting because—as I was devastated to find out—I am the oldest committee member. That came as much as a shock to me as I suspect it did to other members.

Agenda item 1 is declaration of interests. I think that we can take it as read that, as members of the Parliament, we all have an interest in the outcome of any pension scheme that affects us. However, that is not a declarable interest in terms of the register of interests. For the record, I state that I have no relevant interests to declare.

Do other members have interests to declare?

I hold shares in Standard Life, which are declared in the register of interests and which I should redeclare now. As a former office holder and as an MSP, I share the general interest that Alasdair Morgan mentioned.

I have no registrable interests to declare. Obviously, as the previous speakers have mentioned, as an MSP I have an interest in the proceedings of the committee.

I have no registrable interests, but I have a collection of pension policies that I have acquired from previous gainful employment that are capable of being transferred into a parliamentary pension scheme. Clearly, the structure of the scheme will have a bearing on any decision that I may take on my pension interests.

I hope that you were not implying that employment here is not gainful.

I should also declare that I have a Standard Life pension as well as shares. The pension has not yet been transferred, but it may be capable of being transferred at some future point.

For clarification, in light of what has just been said, I have a private pension that as of yesterday, 17 September, was transferred into the parliamentary pension scheme.

For further information, I might as well state that I have a pension under the Westminster pension scheme.

Good for you.

Indeed.