Commentary on Sections New powers in respect of occupational and personal pension schemes Section 14: Third party notices
63.This section deals with cases where a person (the third party) fails to do something and this causes another person to contravene the pensions legislation (within the meaning of section 13(7)). The third party can be given a third party notice by the Regulator requiring him to remedy his failure. For example if trustees are unable to comply with the requirements to produce audited accounts because the scheme administrators had not supplied them with the required information, the Regulator could issue a third party notice to the scheme administrators requiring them to remedy the situation within a reasonable period of time.
64.The notice must specify the nature of the contravention of the pensions legislation and the alleged failure by the third party, and include the evidence on which the Regulator has based its opinion. Each step which the notice requires the third party to take must be taken within the deadline specified the notice (and that deadline must be at least 21 days from the date of the notice). Directions in a third party notice may be framed so as to allow the third party a choice of ways to remedy or prevent the recurrence of the contravention. Subsection (4) provides that a notice may direct the third party to inform the Regulator of actions taken to comply with the notice.
65.Subsection (6) provides that section 10 of the Pensions Act 1995 (civil penalties) applies to a person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a third party notice issued to him.
66.Subsection (7) prevents compliance with a third party notice amounting to a breach of confidentiality.