Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1996

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Suspension of trustees and offence.

27.—The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after section 63 of the following sections:

“Suspension of trustees.

63A.—(1) The Court may, on application to it by the Board, make an order on such terms and subject to such directions as to notification of relevant parties as it may think suspending a trustee of a scheme from being a trustee of the scheme to which the application relates—

(a) pending completion of an investigation by or on behalf of the Board into the state and conduct of the scheme,

(b) where proceedings have been instituted against him for an offence involving dishonesty or deception and have not been concluded,

(c) where a petition has been presented to the Court for an order adjudging him bankrupt and proceedings on the petition have not been concluded,

(d) where the trustee is a company, if a petition for the winding up of the company has been presented to the Court and proceedings on the petition have not been concluded,

(e) where an application has been made to the Court for a disqualification order against him under Part VII of the Companies Act, 1990 , and proceedings on the application have not been concluded, or

(f) where the trustee is a company and, if any director were a trustee, the Court would have power to suspend him under paragraph (b), (c) or (e).

(2) An order under subsection (1) may apply to a particular scheme, a particular class of schemes or schemes in general.

(3) An order under subsection (1)(a) shall be in force for a period not exceeding 12 months: However, on application to it by the Board, the Court may by order extend that period for a further period not exceeding 12 months.

(4) An order made under subsection (1) (other than under paragraph (a)) shall be in force until the proceedings to which the order relates are determined.

(5) Where an order is made under subsection (1) the person suspended by the order from acting as a trustee shall not, while the order is in force, exercise any functions as a trustee of a scheme to which the order applies.

(6) An order under subsection (1) may be made on any of the grounds in paragraphs (b) to (e) of that subsection whether or not the proceedings were instituted, petition presented or application made (as the case may be) before or after the passing of the Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1996.

(7) The Court may, on the application of any person suspended under subsection (1), by order revoke the order, either generally or in relation to a particular scheme or a particular class of schemes, but a revocation made at any time cannot affect anything done before that time.

(8) An order under this section may make provision as respects the period of the trustee's suspension for matters arising out of it and in particular for enabling any person to execute any instrument in his name or otherwise act for him and for adjusting any provisions of the scheme governing the proceedings of the trustees to take account of the reduction in the number capable of acting.

(9) Where the Court makes an order under subsection (1) it may by that order or by a further order appoint any person to be a trustee in place of, and for such period as the Court may direct not exceeding the period of suspension of, the person suspended from acting as a trustee.

(10) An order referred to in subsection (9) may make provision for such ancillary and consequential matters (including the vesting of the property of the scheme concerned in the trustees appointed by the order and (notwithstanding anything contained in the rules of the scheme) the making of payments from the resources of the scheme or from the employer to the trustees appointed by the order in respect of fees, expenses or other matters relating to their duties as such trustees) as the Court considers necessary or expedient.

(11) Where an order referred to in subsection (9) ceases to have an effect, the Court may by a further order make provision for the vesting of the property of the scheme concerned in the persons who are the trustees of the said scheme.

(12) Where any land of which the ownership is registered under the Registration of Title Act, 1964 , becomes vested, by order under this section in any person or persons, the registering authority under that Act shall, upon production of the relevant order under this section, and upon payment of the appropriate fee, register that person or those persons in the appropriate register maintained under that Act as owner (within the meaning of that Act) of the land.

(13) Where an order is made under this section, any assets vested by the order that immediately before the commencement of the order were standing registered in the books of any bank, corporation or company or were entered in any register kept in pursuance of any enactment in the names of the former trustees of the scheme concerned shall, upon such commencement, be transferred into the names of the new trustees of the scheme.

Offence.

63B.—A person who purports to act as trustee of a scheme while removed from being a trustee of a scheme under section 63 or suspended from being a trustee of a scheme under section 63A shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both,

(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.”.