56. Mr. T. WILSONasked the President of the Local Government Board if he is aware that some pension officers, when calculating the means of applicants, are, when the applicant is receiving sick pay from a friendly society, demanding from the society an estimate of the amount of sick pay the applicant will receive in the succeeding year; and will he say whether this is done on the instructions given by the Local Government Board?
§ Mr. BALDWIN (Joint Financial Secretary to the Treasury)I have been asked to reply to this question. Where a claimant to an old age pension is in receipt of sick pay, account must, under Section 2 (1) (b) of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1911, be taken of the amount which the claimant "may reasonably expect to receive during the succeeding year"; and friendly societies, as well as other persons, are under a statutory obligation to provide, when required, the information necessary to enable the pension authorities to calculate the means.