§
Motion made, and Question proposed,
That a Supplementary sum, not exceeding £197,000, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1938, for the payment of Old Age Pensions, Pensions to Blind Persons, and for certain Administrative Expenses in connection therewith.
§ 10.50 p.m.
§ Lieut.-Colonel ColvilleThis is a larger sum than those with which we have just been dealing, but the explanation is quite simple. The Estimates for old age pensions are framed substantially on the anticipated number of pensions in payment at the 1st April in the year. This is based on the number in payment on the previous 31st December with adjustments for new pensioners and mortality among previous pensioners. It is a subject for actuarial calculation, but it is not always possible to be accurate in that calculation. The number of new pensioners coming into pension is fairly steady, but the death rate for the quarter ending 31st March is a very uncertain factor. The first quarter of the year is the one which always shows the heaviest mortality amongst old people. On the number of deaths in that quarter a great deal depends, as far as budgeting is concerned. Last year the death rate for the March quarter was substantially less than had been anticipated, and the consequence was that we had a great many more pensions to pay.
§
Resolved,
That a Supplementary sum, not exceeding £197,000, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1938, for the payment of Old Age Pensions, Pensions to Blind Persons, and for certain Administrative Expenses in connection therewith.