Steve Webb: I will not hesitate to take action on pension charges Government can ban a scheme from being used for automatic enrolment if its fees are too high or if members are required to pay for anything which doesn't deliver them a pension benefit. We could take action within months so the industry has every incentive to do the right thing here. Capping charges is not straightforward. There is a risk that the cap becomes the norm and lower charges are levelled upwards. It is also not easy to decide which costs should be included in the definition of the cap. But we have the power to cap charges, further strengthened by the Coalition in the 2011 Pensions Act, and we will use them if consumers need that protection. In particular we will be watching charging levels in "default funds" - the funds where people's money is invested if they do not make an active choice about how their money is used. But, as recent reports point out, there are already millions of people in existing pension schemes which vary greatly in quality and cost. We do need greater transparency in scheme charges, and the work of the National Association of Pension Funds to try to explain charges in simple "pounds and pence" terms is to be welcomed. We also need to look at the legacy of pension schemes where people are "locked in" to high cost pensions with exit penalties for moving their money out. I would like to see the leading companies look again at their "back book" of old pension policies. They should ask themselves how many policy holders they have who have pensions on terms that they would not dream of offering to new customers. And they should ask themselves if the battered reputation of their industry would not be greatly enhanced if they were to revisit these schemes and offer scheme members fairer terms. For most people, joining a workplace pension, with an employer contribution and tax relief on top remains one of the best things they can do with their money. But I remain determined to make sure that every pound that they put aside is turned into the maximum possible amount of pension. And if further measures are needed to clamp down on charges, then we will not hesitate to take them.