The Pensions Regulator chief to quit

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The Pensions Regulator chief to quit

The chief executive of the Pensions Regulator, Lesley Titcomb, has decided to leave at the end of her four year contract, the body has announced.

Lesley Titcomb will leave her role in February next year saying she wanted to find more time for family and other interests.

TPR has been heavily criticised for its role in the Carillion collapse, with MPs accusing it of making "hollow threats" and failing “in all its objectives".

The work and pensions, and the business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committees called for cultural change at the watchdog, saying they were "far from convinced that The Pensions Regulator's current leadership is equipped to effect that change."

But the regulator stressed Ms Titcomb’s decision was entirely unrelated to those pressures.

It said the chief executive would continue to drive forward the programme of change she has been leading to make the organisation “clearer, quicker and tougher”, until her departure.

Mark Boyle, chairman of the board of TPR, said: “On behalf of the board and the whole organisation I want to express our appreciation for the superb job Lesley is continuing to do as our chief executive. 

“We respect her decision, but will be very sorry to lose her. Lesley has strengthened our leadership team and will continue, over the coming months, to implement TPR Future, the change programme she and I instigated together which is already making us a more effective regulator.”

Ms Titcomb took the helm at TPR in March 2015 after a five-year stint as chief operating officer at the Financial Conduct Authority and its predecessor, the Financial Services Authority.

She said: “This has been a difficult personal decision taken after extensive discussion with family and the chairman. 

“I love working at TPR and am immensely proud of what we are achieving. But as I turn 57 next month, the end of my contract in February 2019 feels like the appropriate moment to find more time in my life for family, friends, other interests and opportunities.”

In the three years since Ms Titcomb became chief executive TPR has secured seven criminal prosecutions of rogue employers seeking to shirk their auto-enrolment duties.

It has secured £363m for members of the BHS pension schemes and £329m for Coats members, taking the amount secured through initiating anti-avoidance action to more than  £1bn.

It has also been instrumental in setting up the new British Steel Pension Scheme BSPS II, which is part sponsored by Tata Steel UK, and set up an authorisation regime for master trusts.

It is currently in the process of implementing a new approach to regulation, shifting its focus on mitigating risks through ongoing oversight, escalating intervention and quicker action across more schemes.

The search for a successor will begin immediately led by Mr Boyle. 

The eventual appointment will be subject to the approval of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London and former pensions minister, said Ms Titcomb's decision to step down was disappointing and that she had been "unnecessarily and inappropriately" personally vilified for events that happened before she took over.

He said: “Under Lesley Titcomb’s leadership the regulator has achieved notable successes including a very high compliance rate with automatic enrolment and pursuing unwilling employers for hundreds of millions of pounds on behalf of members of workplace pension schemes. 

"If Parliament wants the best people to lead public bodies, it needs to reflect on whether those people will be willing to subject themselves to highly personal scrutiny and attack of the sort we have seen in recent months."

But adviser Al Rush, who took an ongoing role in helping victims of the British Steel debacle, said he was disappointed with the regulator's performance under her leadership.

He said: "I found the corporate attitude incredibly unhelpful and apathetic, and the business with Carillion sealed it for me. TPR should have known much more, and done much more."

carmen.reichman@ft.com