SELECT COMMITTEE (SECOND REPORT). (Hansard, 4 March 1920)

4. Captain COOTE
asked the Pensions Minister whether he can now make any announcement as to the acceptance of the recommendations of the Second Re port of the Select Committee on Pensions?

§ 7. Sir MONTAGUE BARLOW
asked the Pensions Minister whether the Government have now been able to consider the Second Report of the Select Committee on Pensions; and if he can state whether the recommendations contained in that Report will be carried out?

§ Sir L. WORTHINGTON-EVANS
Yes, Sir. The Government have considered the Second Report of the Select Committee.
595 It would be impossible, within the limits of an oral answer, to announce the decisions reached with regard to the several recommendations made by the Committee, and I am, therefore, circulating a detailed statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT. Hon. Members will, however, be glad to learn at once that the majority of the 49 recommendations made by the Select Committee have been accepted. In particular, it has been found possible to accept the whole of the recommendations as to the disability scales of pay of regular and temporary officers which are contained in Paragraphs 16 to 27 of the Report.
The recommendations with regard to officers' widows' pensions, the pensions and allowances in respect of children and the loading up of pre-War earnings for the assessment of alternative pensions have also been accepted with slight modifications.
With regard to the recommendations concerning the dependants of non-commissioned officers and other ranks the Government have accepted the proposals to increase the limits of pre-War dependants' pension and the special need pension to 20s. a week, and are prepared to give the Special Grants Committee discretion to deal with certain cases of special hardship as recommended by the Select Committee. The Government are, however, unable to accept the Committee's recommendation that all pre-War dependency and special need pensions should be scaled up by an extra 13 per cent., but hard cases will be met partly by a revision of the existing need scale and partly, as I have pointed out, by the Special Grants Committee.
The estimated cost of the recommendations made by the Committee, including the continuance of the 20 per cent. bonus, is £3,000,000. The estimated cost of the improvements accepted by the Government is £1,900,000.
I hope that note will be taken of the fact that officers and their dependants need not apply to the Ministry for the increased rates of retired pay or pension due to them. The work of re-assessment will be carried through as rapidly as possible and payment will be made as from April 1st, with arrears from that date. I must also ask for some indulgence on behalf of the Special Grants Committee on whom a great amount of extra 596 work will fall by reason of the many recommendations as to discretionary grants which the Government have accepted. In the case of discretionary grants, application by the individual concerned is, of course, necessary, but the Special Grants Committee, who must largely increase their staff, are not at the moment in the position to receive such applications. As soon as the terms of their new Regulations are settled and they are in a position to consider applications, an announcement will be made.
On behalf of the Government I wish to thank the hon. Member for South Salford and his colleagues on the Select Committee for the care and thoroughness with which they examined the many difficult problems connected with the pensions and pension administration.