§ 67. Mr. BUCHANAN (for Mr. STEPHEN)asked the Secretary of State for War the minimum pension of a sergeant and a corporal, respectively, under Article 1075, Pay Warrant 1909, previous to the War in 1914, and what the corresponding figures would be to-day?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the WAR OFFICE (Sir Victor Warrender)It is difficult to give an exact answer to the question, as the whole code under which pensions are awarded is substantially different from that in force in 1909, and the qualifying periods for the 41 minimum rates of pension have been changed. The minimum rates appropriate to a soldier with 21 years' adult service provide the most useful comparison; these were, under the 1909 Pay Warrant, 1s. 6d. a day for a Serjeant and 1s. 3d. for a Corporal. A Serjeant with insufficient service to qualify for the Serjeant's rate would be awarded the 1s. 3d. rate. Under post-war rules the corresponding rates for similar service are 2s. 10½d. a day and 2s. 9d. a day respectively.