Emma Reynolds, MP for Wycombe, has been named as a minister across both the Treasury and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), sparking speculation that a pension role spanning both departments has been created.
Speaking on X, Reynolds said: “It’s a great privilege to be appointed by the new PM as the Parliamentary Secretary in His Majesty’s Treasury and DWP. I can’t wait to get started working with Rachel Reeves and Liz Kendall and both ministerial teams and departments.”
The announcement has fuelled speculation that Sir Stephen Timms, former Work and Pensions Committee chair, who was unveiled as a DWP minister on Monday, will take the disability brief rather than the pensions minister job.
LCP partner and former minister, Steve Webb said the news that Reynolds has been appointed to a ministerial role in both HM Treasury and the DWP could lead to more ‘joined up’ pension policy. Currently, workplace pensions are split between two departments, the Treasury, regulated by the FCA, and the DWP, with regulation implemented by The Pensions Regulator. This historic division means group personal pensions and master trusts have different regulations and regulators even though they provide what to employees appear identical products.
Webb says another potential advantage is the fact that pension tax relief is a policy area which falls firmly within the remit of the Treasury but clearly has huge implications for the whole pensions landscape. Any reform of pension tax relief would need to fully involve DWP for consideration of how changes could affect occupational pensions, and this will be easier with a minister who serves in both departments.
Reynolds was first elected to Parliament in 2010, representing Wolverhampton NE and served for 9 years before losing her seat in 2019. She stood again at the 2024 Election, this time in Wycombe, and returned to Parliament with a majority of just over 4,500 votes, defeating Steve Baker.
Webb says: “There is much to be said in favour of a ministerial role which spans both HM Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions. In the past, the two departments have not always been ‘joined up’ when it comes to pensions policy, with Treasury changes to pension tax relief sometimes undermining DWP efforts to boost pension saving. With a combined appointment there is the opportunity for decisions on pensions to take full account of the whole pensions landscape. One risk however is that the Treasury desire to see pension assets used to promote economic growth at a macro level could mean that the individual member perspective gets less attention than it should. This is something that the new minister will have to guard against.”
