§ 65. Sir Frank Sandersonasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that, in the case of sick and infirm persons in receipt of the non-contributory old age pension who enter a nursing institution where the difference in the fees and the amount of the pension is made up either by friends or by council benefit, the old age pension is stopped by the pension authorities, with the result either that the relatives have to bear the full cost of maintenance in the nursing institution or the sick or infirm 2069 person has to go to the infirmary; and, as this procedure defeats the purpose for which the old age pension was given, will he consider amending the law to eliminate this anomaly?
§ The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Captain Crookshank)In assessing the means of a non-contributory old age pensioner, the yearly value of provided maintenance and treatment, whether received in an institution or elsewhere, is taken into account and if the value of the benefit is such that the means exceed the statutory limit the pension ceases to be payable under the Act. To exclude the value of provided benefits in such cases would create many anomalies and as has been previously stated the Government are not prepared to introduce legislation to effect the change suggested.