To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) undertaken on the economies of scale which will be generated by funds under management in personal accounts; (305964)

The Department has not commissioned or undertaken such research.

However, the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority's engagement with stakeholders during their consultation (‘Building Personal Accounts: Designing an Investment Approach’, published on 7 May 2009), confirmed the scheme will benefit from economies of scale when investing future members' contributions. Responses to the consultation are summarised in, ‘Building Personal Accounts: Designing an Investment Approach’. Key findings of the public consultation published November 2009.

The ‘Impact Assessment for the Pensions Bill’ (2007), published on the 24 April 2008 estimated there might be funds around £100 to 300 billion under management in the scheme by 2050, in 2007-08 earnings terms.