23. Mr. ROBINSONasked the Minister of Health if the crippled or invalid husband of an insured woman is granted a pension at 65 under the Widows', Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act; and whether any pension can be granted to a crippled husband who has been maintained by his wife for 30 years, the wife having paid insurance since the inception of National Health Insurance and being at present an insured person eligible for pension in January, 1928?
§ Sir K. WOODThe answer to both parts of the question is in the negative. I may point out that a woman's contribution is only 4½d. per week, as against a contribution of 9d. paid by a man, and it is natural, therefore, that the benefits derived from a woman's insurance should be less than in the case of a man.
24. Mr. ROBINSONasked the Minister of Health whether an insured person aged 70 or more, in receipt of an old age pension, should use form O.A.P. 101 when applying for a pension in respect of his wife aged 65 or over?
§ Sir K. WOODThe hon. Member would appear to be under a misapprehension. In the circumstances indicated in the question, the wife would not become entitled to a pension in right of her husband's insurance until she reached the age of 70.
25. Mr. ROBINSONasked the Minister of Health if the information given by pensioners on form O.A.P. 101 will be treated as confidential; if his attention 2161 has been drawn to the disquiet among working men and women by Questions 9 and 10, asking for the present occupation and name and address of employer; and whether he will have these questions removed from future issues of the form as many workpeople fear that they may lose their employment if the employer is aware that they are 65 years of age?
§ Sir K. WOODThe purpose of the questions referred to is to obtain information to determine whether title to pension is established in cases where for any reason the insurance particulars are defective. They cannot, therefore, be omitted, but the information thus obtained is treated as confidential, except where it is necessary to use it in order to establish the applicant's title.
§ 27. Mr. KELLY (for Mr. ROBERT YOUNG)asked the Minister of Health whether a person who was an insured person at the introduction of the Widows', Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act, and whose salary subsequently rose above the £250 maximum as laid down in the Act, and had not 104 contributions to his credit since the date of his last entry into insurance, will be considered as entitled to transfer to the voluntary contributors' section if he can show a total of more than 104 contributions, not necessarily consecutive, compulsorily paid under the National Health Insurance Act; and, if not, whether he is prepared, on behalf of the Government, to introduce legislation to enable such persons to become voluntary contributors?
§ Sir K. WOODThe reply to the first part of the question is in the negative. As regards the second part, my right hon. Friend would point out that the recent Royal Commission on National Health Insurance recommended that no change should be made as regards the title to voluntary insurance, one of the conditions for which is that there must have been 104 weeks of insurable employment in a period of continuous insurance. My right hon. Friend has no reason to differ from the conclusion of the Commissioners in this respect and he cannot undertake to introduce legislation which would admit to voluntary insurance persons who do not satisfy this condition.