§ MR. SOARESI beg to ask the Prime Minister what is the position of a pauper aged seventy with regard to an old-age pension; will such a person be entitled to receive a pension if he ceases from being a charge on the rates; and will the same rules apply both to outdoor and indoor relief.
§ MR. ASQUITHI should be glad that Questions in regard to the details of the scheme should be addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer or the President of the Local Government Board according to the subject matter. As I stated in my Budget Speech it is not the intention, at any rate during the first year, to extend the benefits of the scheme to existing paupers. Actual receipt of Poor Law relief, whether outdoor or indoor, at the time of application or within a time which I will not at present definitely fix, but which will not be unduly long, will be a disqualification. It is necessary that some such provision should be made to prevent the transfer of the cost of Poor Law relief from rates to taxes and to keep entirely separate Poor Law and pension administration. As I pointed out, this part of the scheme is necessarily provisional, and without prejudice to changes in the law and administration of poor relief which may result from the recommendations of the Poor Law Commission.