§ Paragraph 14—Statutory right to pension for widows and dependants of officers and men.—The statutory right will be extended to widows and motherless children (who already have the right 598 of appeal to the new Pensions Appeal Tribunal) on the same terms as it is given to officers and men by the War Pensions (Administrative Provisions) Act, 1919—that is, that the right is in each case to the pension awarded, subject to the conditions of the Warrant.
§ It is proposed to extend this statutory right to pension to dependants, because the grant of a pension to them is determined, not alone by the circumstances of the man's death, but on other factors, such as pre-War dependence, need, incapacity for work and age. Moreover, to give dependants a statutory right to pension would necessarily involve the further right of appeal; but even if an appeal succeeded on the question of attributability, the claimant might still find himself ineligible for pension on other grounds.
§ The recommendation as to administrative improvements in the last sentence-of paragraph 14 has been anticipated and in future officers will have the same advantages in the matters referred to as have men.
§ Paragraphs 16–27—Officers' Disability Scales.—The recommendations relating to retired pay of officers in paragraphs 16–27 will be followed, except that the variable element in the disablement addition referred to in Paragraph 23 will be 20 per cent. instead of £20.
§ Paragraphs 28–30—Temporary Officers promoted from the ranks.—It has been decided to adopt the proposal of the Committee, ensuring that the man who would have attained to a permanent pension if he had remained in the ranks and had been pensioned as a soldier shall not forfeit that benefit because he took a temporary commission and was disabled as an officer.
§ Paragraph 31—Wound pensions.—Effect will be given to the recommendation that the present unsatisfactory system of wound pension should be reconsidered, for the future by the Departments concerned.
§ The proposal of the Committee that in all wound-pension cases the bonus should be calculated on the scale of disablement for sickness, though it has much to recommend it in theory, would involve a reduction of amounts actually being received by many officers. It is felt that in all the circumstances the proposal should not be adopted.
599§ Paragraph 32—Wixes' Allowances.—The Government share the view of the Committee that provision should be made in proper cases in respect of the wives of disabled officers, and they agree with the Committee that it is undesirable to pay allowances to those who do not need them. It has therefore been decided to empower the Special Grants Committee to grant wives' allowances up to a maximum of £50 a year additional to the retired pay, where need is shown, irrespective of the degree of disablement of the officer.
§ Paragraph 34—Children's Allowances.—The recommendations of the Committee with regard to these allowances are accepted.
§ Paragraph 35—Alternative retired pay.— The Committee's proposal that the pre-war earnings of officers be "loaded up" by 60 per cent. is accepted, but their suggestion to alter the present limits of earnings on which the retired pay may be based is not considered to be justified. There is reason to think that salaries above £300 a year have not increased in the same proportion as wages of lower amount. It has therefore been decided to retain the present system by which full earnings are reckoned up to £300 a year and one-half of the earnings between £300 and £600.
§ At (iii) of paragraph 35 it is recommended that service retired pay and service pension of which an officer or man was in receipt before the War should be reckoned as part of his pre-War earnings, being in the nature of deferred pay, and not as income only. This recommendation cannot be accepted.
§ Legal opinion is against regarding service retired pay as current earnings, and the change, if made in regard to officers, would have to be applied to their widows and to men of non-commisioned rank and their widows. The proposal would not in all cases benefit the officer, and would be actually to the direct disadvantage of the man, because, if the service pension formerly payable is to be regarded as pre-War earnings, the higher rate of service pension now payable must be regarded as present earnings and the alternative pension must be reduced accordingly. On the other hand, it is recognised that there are eases where a Regular officer lived before the War on his retired 600 pay and having been killed in the War leaves a widow materially reduced in circumstances, and it is proposed that these cases should be met by allowing the Special Grants Committee to supplement the flat-rate pension up to £200 in the case of widows of Regular officers who were drawing service retired pay before the War.
§ Paragraph 38—Widows' pensions.—The Committee partially apply the plan adopted for men's widows of assessing at two thirds of the maximum disability rate. They also propose to amalgamate the widows on the "highest" and "intermediate" scales if over 40, or having children, but to leave them differentiated if under 40 and without children. It has been decided, as a more Consistent scheme, to modify the proposal slightly, as follows:—
§ Highest pension—
§ Over 40 or with children; Two-thirds of disability rate (£140).
§ Under 40 and without children: present highest rate, plus 20 per cent. (£120).
§ Intermediate pension—
§ Over 40 or with children: Present highest rate plus 20 per cent. (£120).
§ Under 40 and without children: Present intermediate rate plus 20 per cent. (£90).
§ (The figures in brackets show what the pension would be for the widow of a captain or subaltern).
§ Paragraph 39—Children of deceased Officers.—The proposals at A (a) and (b) are accepted. The proposal at (c) is already in operation. The recommendation at B (top of p. 14) to give a rather wider limit for supplementation by the Special Grants Committee where there are children is also accepted.
§ Paragraph 40—Widows' alternative pensions.—The recommendations as to loading up pre-war earnings by 60 per cent., and enabling the widow with children to choose the class of pension more favourable to her, will be adopted.
§ Paragraph 41—Motherless Children.—The Committee have proposed in paragraph 33 to raise the normal rate of child's allowance from £24 plus bonus of £4 16s. (= £28 16s.) to £30 plus bonus of £6 (= £36). The corresponding increase 601 for motherless children should be from £40 plus bonus of £3 to £60, plus bonus of ¨10 (= £60). It has been decided therefore to make this new rate £60.
§ The proposal to allow the Special Grants Committee to give allowances up to £40 a year to motherless children of officers not eligible for pensions under the Warrant is approved.
§ It has been decided further that the Special Grants Committee should be empowered to supplement an existing pension of a motherless child up to the limit of an additional £25 a year in suitable cases (as e.g., where the mother would have been entitled, if she had survived, to a substantial alternative pension, or survives and dies when in receipt of such pension).
§ Paragraph 42—Relatives of Officers.—The first recommendation (third subparagraph) will be carried out administratively.
§ With regard to this second recommendation (fourth sub-paragraph) as to the limit of pension, it ought not to be possible for the parent to receive a higher pension than the widow (the two-thirds rate not being proposed for all widows). It is therefore proposed that the limit for the parents' pension should be that proposed to be taken for the widow without children, i.e., present highest rate plus 20 per cent., or present intermediate rate plus 20 per cent.
§ The third recommendation (last sentence on p, 14) is now fully met by a change in the regulations.
§ The fourth recommendation (top of p. 15) as to admitting a sister, if otherwise qualified, on death of a pensioned parent, is approved.
§ Paragraph 44—Seniority of Naval Warrant Officers.—This has already been taken up by the Admiralty, and has been conceded.
§ Paragraph 45—Disabled Naval Warrant Officers.—The Committee propose no change for the temporary Warrant Officers; but the bonus will be definitely added to the pension.
§ For Regular Warrant Officers, the much-increased service rates provide for the increased cost of living, but the Committee propose that the disablement additions should be slightly increased. This is agreed on the understanding that the 602 rates so arrived at will be subject to' adjustment according to cost of living, with the present rates as a minimum.
§ Although the Committee have made no proposal on the point, it has been decided to grant Allowances for wives of Naval Warrant Officers on the same basis of need as in case of Officers under para. 32, with the maximum limit of £40 for a Commissioned Warrant Officer and £30 for Warrant Officer.
§ Paragraph 46—Widows and Children of Naval Warrant Officers.—The Committee recommend that the widow of the Commissioned Naval Warrant Officer over 40 or with children be granted £102, and of the Warrant Officer £90.
§ Rates reducible by 20 per cent. are preferable, and therefore rates of £l05 and £90 will be approved.
§ The scheme will then be:—
§ Widow of Commissioned Naval Warrant Officer—
| Over 40 or with children | £105 |
| Under 40 and without children | £90 |
§ Widow of Naval Warrant Officer—
| Over 40 or with children | £90 |
| Under 40 and without children | £75 |
§ The improved scale of allowances for the children of Naval Warrant Officers suggested by the Select Committee is agreed to.
§ Paragraph 48—Nurses.—The suggested increases for matrons and nurses are approved.
§ Paragraph 49—Nurses' dependants.—Proposals made to the Treasury by the Ministry on behalf of the Special Grants Committee have now been sanctioned.
§ Paragraph 50—Civilian nurses.—Most of these are already dealt with under the Dispensing Warrant, but if existing powers are found to be insufficient, further consideration will be given to cases of hardship.
§ Paragraph 51—General Service Section V.A.D.—These are not nurses, but women engaged on ancillary duties. The question whether compensation can be provided for them will be considered by the War Office.
§ Paragraph 52—Limits of bonus and pension.—The Committee's recommendations are approved.
§ Paragraph 53—Regular Officers in India.—This subject is' under consideration between the Departments concerned.
603§ Paragraph 54—Income Tax exemption.—This matter has been dealt with in the reply given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the question, put to him on the 18th ultimo by the hon. Member for Wellingborough.
§ Paragraph 55—Children's advancement allowances.—The provision being made for children by way of maintenance and education allowances is liberal, and the expense of this proposal for grants for advancement which would probably have to be extended also to soldiers' children would be extremely serious. It is regretted, therefore, that it cannot be adopted.
§ Paragraph 56—Payment of children's allowances.—This recommendation will be acted on in suitable cases.
§ Paragraph 57—Re-employed Naval Officers.—This is under the consideration of the Admiralty.
§ Paragraph 58—Constant attendant allowances.—The increase of the maximum rate of £100 is approved.
§ Paragraph 59–61—Training.—The Ministry of Labour are considering these paragraphs of the Report.
§ Paragraphs 62–63—Previous wars.—As far as is considered practicable, and with the exception referred to below, "the improved rates granted to officers and men and their dependants in the present War," have already been conceded to previous-war pensioners. At present, however, the widow of a non-commissioned officer killed in a former war receives the pension of a private's widow of the present war, although the officer's widow of a former war is pensioned according to rank, as are both disabled officers and disabled men. In view of the Select Committee's recommendations, it has been decided that the widow of a noncommissioned officer killed in a former war shall receive the pension appropriate to her late husband's rank under the Warrants relating to the late War.
§ Sir M. BARLOWArising out of that answer, which the House is glad to receive, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he can make quite clear one point: that is, in regard to dependants' allowances to men and officers, as well as the general revision which the Committee recommended, or, at any rate, hoped it might be found possible to undertake 604 —whether or not that is part of the scheme accepted by the Government?
§ Sir L. WORTHINGTON-EVANSMy hon. Friend will find that I am dealing with that in the statement I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPOET, but I may say at once that I cannot accept it because the suggestions made by the Committee are administratively impossible.
§ Captain LOSEBYWill an opportunity be given to this House at an early date to discuss these very important proposals?
§ Sir L. WORTHINGTON-EVANSMy hon. and gallant Friend knows that it is no use addressing that question to me.
Captain COOTEIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that many hon. Members of the Committee signed this Report only on the understanding that this general revision of the dependants' allowances would be carried out, and in view of that statement would he approach the Leader of the House, and ask that a date shall be given for discussion?
§ Sir L. WORTHINGTON-EVANSI shall be very delighted if a discussion can be arranged, because then I hope to convince my hon. and gallant Friend that the proposals of the Committee in that particular respect is not capable of being carried out.