§ 50. Mr. SEXTONasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what would be the estimated cost annually for the increase of the contributory pensions from 10s. per week to £1 per week?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Mr. W. S. Morrison)The additional cost of increasing contributory pensions to persons between the ages of 65 and 70 and pensions to widows from 10s. to 20s. a week would be about £41,000,000 a year at the present time. The additional cost of the same increase in the pensions to persons over 70 (which consist partly of contributory and partly of non-contributory pensions which could not be separated) would be about £44,000,000 a year at the present time. Each of these figures would increase steadily in the future.
§ Mr. GALLACHERMoney well spent.