Debate contribution: Pensions (Special Rules for End of Life) Bill: Legislative Consent Motion
Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on .
- MLA
- Mr Gordon Lyons
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 22 April 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Pensions (Special Rules for End of Life) Bill: Legislative Consent Motion
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4484089
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I beg to move
The Pensions (Special Rules for End of Life) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 6 December 2023. Clause 1, which relates to the definition of terminal illness, makes provision for devolved matters and requires a legislative consent motion (LCM). The Bill extends the definition of terminal illness in respect of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and the financial assistance scheme. Clause 1 makes changes to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 and the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 to amend the definition of "terminally ill" from six months to 12 months. Although pensions are a devolved matter, in general pensions policy and legislation here operate in line with corresponding pension provision in England, Scotland and Wales, in line with section 87 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Pension Protection Fund pays compensation to members of eligible defined benefit pension schemes in cases in which the sponsoring employer became insolvent on or after 6 April 2005 and the scheme has insufficient assets to secure its pension liabilities at least to the level of compensation that will be payable by the Pension Protection Fund. The financial assistance scheme, at its inception, applied to schemes that started to wind up between 1 January 1997 and 5 April 2005. Since then, its coverage and the amount of assistance that it pays have been reviewed and extended. The financial assistance scheme makes payments to members of qualifying schemes that are unable to secure their pension liabilities in full. "Terminal illness" is currently defined in legislation as being where a person's death:
"in consequence of that disease can reasonably be expected within 6 months".
That means that the Pension Protection Fund and the financial assistance scheme make payments where medical evidence shows that a member has a life expectancy of up to six months. The eligibility criteria were set in line with the social security — special rules for end of life — provisions for certain benefits that were originally introduced in 1990. The eligibility rule for those benefits in Great Britain was extended to 12 months by the Social Security (Special Rules for End of Life) Act 2022. The changes in the Bill restore the original policy intent that there be alignment between the two sets of measures. The proposed changes will bring more terminally ill people within the scope of the terminally ill payments made by the Pension Protection Fund and the financial assistance scheme. If it is agreed that clause 1 should extend here, that will allow those important provisions to be enacted across all jurisdictions at the same time. If it is not agreed that the Bill's provisions should extend here, it will be necessary to table a separate Assembly Bill to amend the definition for Northern Ireland. However, that would mean that people in Northern Ireland would not benefit from the extension of the definition at the same time as people in GB. The intention is that the Bill should be enacted as soon as possible. It would therefore be beneficial, timewise, to agree that the relevant provisions in the Bill extend here. Whilst, where possible, I seek to avoid using the legislative consent motion process, it seems sensible in this instance to secure the Bill's benefits for scheme members here by agreeing to a legislative consent motion in respect of the Bill.
I am very aware of the importance of the Assembly's role in considering legislation and, in particular, the value of the Committee's scrutiny role.
I thank the Chair of the Committee for his contribution to the debate. I understand the concerns that have been raised about the LCM. It is not something that we would seek to do, but, as he and I have outlined, it is appropriate on this occasion. I am grateful for the support of the Committee for Communities on the matter, and I commend the motion to the Assembly.
655 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not qualifying”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.77).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-qualifying threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.77 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-qualifying threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.81 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.17 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:00 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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