Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions the Government has had with the government of Russia on the failure of certain Russian companies to fulfil their obligations in relation to pension payments to UK citizens following those companies acquiring the assets of UK businesses.

The responsibility for the oversight of work-based pensions in the UK rests with the Pensions Regulator which was set up under the Pensions Act 2004. Parliament gave the Pensions Regulator operational independence, which means that Ministers are not involved in decisions to exercise its powers or able to intervene in its casework. It would therefore not be appropriate for Ministers to comment on any individual pension scheme. Where it appears that scheme abandonment has taken place, it is a matter for the Regulator to establish whether the legal tests in relation to its ‘anti-avoidance' powers, including the power to issue contribution notices, are met.