This event has now taken place but you can watch the video recording of it through our Youtube Channel, get to it by clicking the button below
When
Tuesday, September 14th, 6PM - 8PM, GMTWhere
Online symposium via Zoom.Format
There'll be a great line-up of speakers plus ample scope for discussion and debate.Why you should attend
This is the second event by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pension Scams and it is taking place on Tuesday, September 14th September from 6pm to 8pm, on Zoom. All event logistics are being taken care of by the APPG’s Secretariat, the Transparency Task Force.
The Purpose Statement of the APPG on Pension Scams is:
“To be a forum through which Parliamentarians and other stakeholders can work together to better protect the public from the perils of pension scams and secondary scammers; give scam victims a representative collective voice; signpost victims to support; and facilitate the development of preventative and supportive policy initiatives.”
The event is all about the many excellent recommendations for reform that were put into the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s excellent Report on Pension Scams and also the response to it from the Government, Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator.
The overall purpose of the event is to galvanise support on what should now be done to push for the kind of positive, progressive and purposeful reforms that are still needed.
In particular, we will be shining a light on the inappropriately punitive way that HMRC treats pension scam victims; this is a major problem that has caused intolerable levels of harm and anxiety that needs to be resolved
Here's the programme and timings so far...
—————————————-6:00pm BST—————————————-
Welcome to the symposium, introductions and initial exploration of the main issues; by
Andy Agathangelou
Founder, Transparency Task Force; Governor, Pensions Policy Institute; Chair, Secretariat Committee, APPG on Pension Scams; Chair, Secretariat Committee, APPG on Personal Banking and Fairer Financial Services; Chair of the Violation Tracker UK Advisory Board, Policy Adviser to Parrhesia, the Whistleblower Research Charity
—————————————-6:05pm BST—————————————-
Presentation #1, for 5 minutes + 5 minutes Q&A/Discussion by
Belle Ribeiro-Addy MP
Labour MP for Streatham
—————————————-6:15pm BST—————————————-
Presentation #2, for 10 minutes + 5 minutes Q&A/Discussion by
Stephen Timms MP
Chair, Work and Pensions Select Committee
—————————————-6:30pm BST—————————————-
Presentation #3, for 15 minutes + 5 minutes Q&A/Discussion by
Ruth Jones MP
Member of the APPG on Pension Scams
—————————————-6:50pm BST—————————————-
Presentation #4, for 15 minutes + 5 minutes Q&A/Discussion by
Margaret Snowdon
Non-executive Member of the Phoenix Group with Profits Committees and the ReAssure Fairness Committee
Non-executive Director of XPS Pension Group plc
—————————————-7:10pm BST—————————————-
Presentation #5, for 10 minutes + 5 minutes Q&A/Discussion by
Sue Flood
Chairman, Pensions Administration Standards and Victim of the Ark Pensions Scandal
—————————————-7:25pm BST—————————————-
Presentation #6, for 5 minutes + 5 minutes Q&A/Discussion by
Sean Browes
Accredited Professional Trustee, Dalriada Trustees
—————————————-7:35pm BST—————————————-
The “Just a minute”-round
Inspired by the BBC Radio 4 programme, we have asked a selection of our attendees to spend just a minute sharing their thoughts on what has been covered during the symposium. But unlike the Radio 4 programme our speakers won’t be penalised for hesitation, repetition or deviation!
Speakers:
Rebecca O’Connor
Head of Pensions and Savings, Interactive Investor
Mark Bishop
Leader of the Connaught Action Group
Malcolm Morton
– Others to be added –
—————————————-7:40pm BST—————————————-
General discussion and debate, 15 minutes
—————————————-7:55pm BST—————————————-
Final conclusions; and suggested next steps and close to the formal proceedings.
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*The programme will continuously evolve so is subject to change.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Labour MP, Streatham
Bell Ribeiro-Addy is the Labour MP for Streatham, her home constituency. Born and raised in Brixton Hill, Bell is a dedicated feminist, anti-racist and trade unionist who cut her teeth in student politics as the National Black Students’ Officer. More recently, she has served as a local school governor and organised a local campaign to tackle the digital divide in Streatham, distributing second-hand laptops to disadvantaged pupils in the area.
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Stephen Timms MP
Chair, Work and Pensions Select Committee
The Rt Hon Stephen Timms has been the Member of Parliament for East Ham since 1994. He is also the Labour Party’s Faith Envoy. He was the Shadow Minister for Employment from 2010 until September 2015 and previously sat on the Exiting the European Union Select Committee.
Stephen entered Parliament in 1994 and held a number of ministerial posts under the previous Labour Government including Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Financial Secretary to the Treasury. Before entering Parliament, Stephen worked in the telecommunications industry for fifteen years, first for Logica and then for Ovum. He managed Ovum’s telecommunications reports business until his election in 1994. At the General Election in 2015, he was the only MP to poll more than 40,000 votes.
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Ruth Jones
Member of the APPG of Pension Scams
Born and bred on the Gaer in Newport, Ruth attended Duffryn Comprehensive School (Now John Frost School) before training to be a physiotherapist. She lives in Allt-yr-yn with her husband with her two adult children having left home.
She spent over 30 years in the National Health Service, working at Nevill Hall Hospital, Panteg Stroke Unit and Serennu Children’s Centre in Newport. Her last role before her elected to Parliament was at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP). In 2007, Ruth was elected as President of the Wales Trades Union Congress (TUC).
Ruth was elected Member of Parliament for Newport West in a by-election in April 2019 and was re-elected in the 2019 General Election. In her free time she sings in a choir and volunteers at a local Night Shelter scheme in Newport City Centre.
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Margaret Snowdon OBE
*Non-executive Member of the Phoenix group with Profits Committees and the ReAssure Fairness Committee; Non-executive Director of XPS Pensions Group plc
Margaret Snowdon OBE is a pensions professional and experienced non-executive director. She is a Non-executive Member of the Phoenix Group With Profits Committees, the ReAssure Fairness Committee, as well as a Non-executive Director of XPS Pension Group plc. She has recently stepped down after four years on the Board of the Pensions Regulator. She sits on the Advisory Board of Moneyhub Financial Technology Limited. Margaret previously held partner and director level positions with the leading employee benefit consultancies.
Among her many voluntary roles within the pensions industry, Margaret is Chair of the Pension Scams Industry Group, which has saved countless £ millions from falling into the hands of scammers. She is the first Honorary President of the Pensions Administration Standards Association, having previously been Chair for seven years. She serves on the Council of the Pensions Policy Institute and is a Member of the Personal Finance Society’s Pensions Advice Taskforce, leads on the PASA DB Transfers Code of Practice and is a member of the STAR Steering Group. She is also a Early Resolution Adviser with the Pensions Ombudsman service. Margaret was appointed an OBE in 2010 and has received many awards for her contribution to Pensions.
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Sue Flood
Victim of the Ark Pensions Scandal; Ambassador of the Transparency Task Force
Sue Flood has worked in the Television Industry since 2001, starting out at Television Centre and progressing through a successful TV programme-making career that included various roles such as Researcher for Top of the Pops, Celebrity Guest Liaison, Location Sourcing, Production Budget, Sales and Promotions (including through BBC Worldwide with responsibility for selling all BBC Programmes to all 130 Global TV Stations Worldwide).
Her roles at the BBC meant she worked with a wide range of household name VIP celebrities including Muhammed Ali, Robert Redford, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, Terry Wogan, Chevy Chase, Joan Collins, David Bowie, Cher, Bob Monkhouse, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Tom Jones, Debbie Harry, Donna Summer, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Van Morrison, Seal, Bryan Adams, Bette Midler, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, Cliff Richard, Paul Weller, Bruce Springsteen, Jamiroquai, Robbie Williams, The Spice Girls, Rowan Atkinson, Kate Bush, Joanna Lumley, Queen, Elton John, UB40, The Who, Rod Stewart, various Presidents of the United States of America and many, many more.
Sue has also had senior roles at BUT Music Group, and her volunteer roles have included raising awareness for disabled models for inclusion in the Fashion, Industry and raising awareness for retired Polo Ponies with CEO Sarah Coleman.
More recently, Sue flood has become a key figure in helping to prevent people falling victim to pension fraudsters, having become a victim herself. Sue lost here entire pension fund; along with over 500 other victims of the Ark Pension Scandal. Her response was to set up a campaign group which she has tirelessly supported ever since. She is now also involved in supporting numerous other pension scam victims and pension scam support groups.
She has unique insight and experience in the pensions scam prevention and support space and her relentless campaigning has led to interaction with the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Financial Conduct Authority – watch this space.
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Sean Browes
Accredited Professional Trustee, Dalriada Trustees
Sean is an Accredited Professional Trustee at Dalriada. Following graduation, Sean entered the pensions industry in 1988 and worked for two major benefit consultancies in both administration management and consultancy roles, before joining Dalriada in 2003.
Sean has a broad range of skills and experience suited to all areas of pension scheme management, but has particular strengths in technical administration aspects. Sean has also overseen a number of key business projects for the Group.
Sean is Accredited as a Professional Trustee by the Association of Professional Pension Trustees.
Sean leads the team dealing with Dalriada’s appointments by the Pensions Regulator (tPR) to schemes suspected of being used as vehicles for pension liberation and/or pension scams. He now has a wealth of experience and knowledge with regard to the unique characteristics associated with the administration and management of these types of scheme and the challenges they present.
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