Mr. Bernard Gloster:

I have met the pensions regulator since I came to this job. That is a very serious problem, and one that the Pensions Authority has given us a certain amount of time to show form on improving. It is affected by a lot of things. Apart from systems, which I will not blame, the reality is that the health service is still a multiple of former employers and employer numbers so there are different local areas. The number of people retiring is far greater than it was previously. The processing of those payments is nothing to do with money; it is simply to do with the sheer level of work involved. Despite the management administration breach that we have, I did have to sign off the other day on the employment of additional staff specifically for pensions to improve that timeline.