§ 2. Mr. FALLEasked the Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware that charitable societies are being asked to assist the families of some of those officers who lost their lives when His Majesty's ship "Bulwark" was destroyed, on the ground that the Admiralty is paying peace pensions to the dependants of such officers and war pensions to the dependants of the lower deck; and if he will remedy this treatment as regards the officers?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAI am not aware that the facts are as stated in the first part of the question. As the hon. Member is probably aware, the scale of pensions being paid to widows of officers who lost their lives in His Majesty's ship "Bulwark" is not the ordinary scale, but the intermediate scale, i.e., the scale awarded in the case of officers killed on duty, but not in action, under which, for example, the widow of a lieutenant would receive a pension of £65 and his children an allowance of £10 to 1470 £14 each. The question of awarding pension in such cases on the highest scale, namely, that for officers killed in action, is at present before the Select Committee on Naval and Military Services (Pensions and Grants). I hope that a very early-decision may be arrived at.