Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2022 to Question 115885 on Thames Freeport, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Work and Pensions since December 2019 on the UK pension liabilities of international companies involved in bids for Freeport status.

The Freeport model includes a broad coalition of local partners, including businesses, local authorities, and ports. Trustees and employers have a wide range of legal duties in respect of workplace schemes and are responsible for compliance with legislative funding requirements. The Pension Regulator is the regulator of work-based pension schemes, and has a range of powers that it may use to intervene, and to take action, primarily against trustees and employers, where they do not comply with their duties.

The Freeport Governance Body will be responsible for the effective delivery of the Freeport according to the economic strategy determined through the bidding process and the Freeport Governance Body will work with Government to ensure the Freeport stays aligned with national policy and delivers on its monitoring and evaluation commitments. The Government recognises rigorous monitoring and evaluation will be key to the success of the Freeports. The Government fully intends to evaluate the impact of Freeports and will be publishing its monitoring and evaluation strategy in the Spring.