§ 11. Mr. Mathersasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he can give information as to the number of pensions at 65 years of age and widows' pensions, respectively, which have been refused to applicants owing to the restriction imposed by Section 6 (3) of the Contributory Pensions Act, 1929?
§ Mr. ColvilleI regret that the exact information is not available. I understand, however, that the number of claims for old age and widows' pensions which are disallowed by reason of the restriction referred to is small.
§ Mr. MathersWould it not be possible for the Secretary of State to take out these figures for one or two years in order to show the size of the problem and the desirability of making a change in the law in this respect, because of its hardship?
§ Mr. ColvilleI cannot give the hon. Member the exact figures but I can tell him that out of some 36,000 applications disallowed in Scotland since 1930 the number of rejections by reason of this restriction is of the order of 100. That gives some idea of the size of the problem.