§ 34 and 35. Mr. TINKERasked the Minister of Pensions (1) if he has received a resolution from the Bolton, Leigh and district war pensions committee, in which they urge him not to take into consideration the old age pension when assessing the need pension, and asking him to have a revision of such cases where the old age pension has been used to lower, or take away altogether, the need pension; and, if so, will he give favourable consideration to the appeal:
(2) if his attention has been called to a resolution passed by the Bolton, Leigh and district war pensions committee protesting against need pensions being taken away before they have been consulted, as they claim that if he got their views before the change was made some of the reductions would not take place; and will he state what he intends to do in the matter?
The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY of PENSIONS (Lieut.-Colonel Stanley)I have received the two resolutions referred to, which are, I fear, based on a misunderstanding of the nature of this class of pension. The amount of a pension based on need is determined by reference to the resources of the claimant, and as such it is necessarily subject to modification by way of increase as well as decrease, as the case may be, in the event of any permanent change in the circumstances of the pensioner. Account must, therefore, necessarily be taken of the grant of an old age pension, as was indeed expressly contemplated by the Widows and Orphans Pensions Act of 1925. I should have no authority to disregard one source of income in preference to another in determining the amount of a pension, nor to undertake to consult the war pensions committee on every occasion, as is suggested, before making an award. At the same time, I may point out that any pensioner is entitled, if dissatisfied with the decision of the Ministry, to make a complaint to the war pensions committee, whose reasons for supporting the complaint, if they did so, would always be very carefully considered.