§ 18. Mr. Manderasked the Minister of Labour particulars of the various pension schemes in operation in industry to-day, together with the number of schemes in operation and the number of workpeople covered, the highest, the average, and the lowest rate of pension?
§ Mr. E. BrownFrom inquiries which have recently been made by my Department, covering industries and services other than the national and local government services, it would appear that at the end of 1936 there were approximately 3,300 industrial and commercial firms or undertakings, and approximately 2,000 other undertakings, organisations or institutions (for example, hospitals, nursing associations and education institutions) in Great Britain wth retirement pension schemes in operation for all or certain classes of their employés. These figures are inclusive of cases in which the arrangements are operated through group schemes covering a number of firms, undertakings or organisations. A large amount of information has been collected giving details of these schemes, and this information is now being analysed and tabulated. I am not yet in a position to give particulars of the total numbers of employés covered, or of the rates of pensions paid, but I hope to be able to publish a summary of the information obtained during the course of the next three or four months.