§ Mr. SHAKESPEAREasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the estimated cost of removing the means test in respect of old age pensions for persons attaining the age of 70?
§ Mr. PETHICK-LAWRENCESubject to the results of the census to be taken early in 1931, the cost of removing the means limit, on the assumption that all persons over 70 claim the old age pension, is now estimated at approximately £11,000,000 a year.
BEAUMONTasked the Minister of Health whether he has received any complaints about delay in granting old age pensions; whether he is aware that considerable inconvenience is caused to guardians committees by this delay; and whether he can take any steps to accelerate the granting of pensions after the recipients have reached the statutory age?
§ Mr. GREENWOODI am not aware that there is any general complaint regarding delay in granting old age pensions although there may be unavoidable delay in individual cases of exceptional difficulty. The reply to the second part of the question is in the negative. As regards the third part, if claimants in1072W general would take advantage of the widely advertised provision which allows applications to be made four months in advance, there would be a material reduction in the number of cases in which pension is not granted until after pension age is reached.