HC Deb 16 April 1919 vol 114 cc2901-2
59. Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKE

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he can make any statement to the House respecting the decision of the Government in the matter of making some addition to the pensions of Civil servants whose pensions are, in very many cases, totally inadequate to meet the present cost of living, and who, in consequence of the low purchasing power of their pensions, are suffering considerable hardship?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

With the hon. Member's permission, I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement of the arrangement recently agreed to. As I explained in reply to a question of the hon. Member for Islington East, on the 9th instant, this arrangement cannot be extended to pensioners who were not in receipt of war bonus at the time of their retirement.

The following is the statement referred to:

The Treasury has had under consideration an application made by the Civil Service Federation, the National Joint Committee of Post Office Associations, the Society of Civil Servants and other Service Associations that the present war bonus to permanent Civil servants should be converted into permanent and pensionable salary or wages. As a result of a conference on the 28th March, an agreement was arrived at to meet the case of officers who have been or may be retired on pension while in receipt of war bonus, without prejudice to either party in regard to any permanent settlement which may hereafter be arrived at as to the relation of war increase to pensionable salary, and the agreement will apply to all officers who may retire before such a settlement is reached. The terms of the agreement provide:

The pay and emoluments on which Civil servants in receipt of war bonus have been pensioned or granted retiring gratuities, or on which they would normally be pensioned or granted retiring gratuities in, future, shall be increased by 25 per cent. if such pay and emoluments do not exceed. £300 per annum, and by 20 per cent. if such pay and emoluments exceed £300 per annum, subject to the following provisions:

  1. (a) That no Civil servants can reckon, as a maximum, for supplementary pension, or retiring gratuity under this agreement more than the full amount of the war bonus of which he was or is in receipt at the time of his retirement, or the average amount of such bonus during the last three years of service in cases where pension cannot legally be awarded on the actual final salary and emoluments;
  2. (b) That the minimum additional amount on which the supplementary pension or gratuity is calculated shall be £26 per year in the case of men and £20 per year for women (subject to the maximum at (a) above);
  3. (c) No officer with salary and emoluments exceeding £300 a year shall receive a smaller supplementary pension or gratuity than he would have received if his salary and emoluments had been exactly £300 a year.