§ 33. Mr. Lowasked the Minister of National Insurance how he proposes to alleviate the great hardship caused to children of divorced parents under the present law, whereby if their father died before 5th July, 1948, without re-marrying the children are debarred from receiving a children's allowance, although they would have been entitled to such an allowance if he had re-married.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of National Insurance (Mr. Steele)I presume the reference is not to the family allowance which would normally be payable where there was more than one child, but to the provision made for the first or only child in conjunction with a widow's pension under the old scheme or as part of a widowed mother's allowance under the new. In the class of case mentioned there is no widow and neither scheme gives me power to pay an allowance for the first child so long as the mother herself is not entitled to benefit.
§ Mr. LowIf the law is as stated in the Question, which is in accordance with a letter received from the Parliamentary Secretary's Department, is the law not very odd, and should not the hon. Gentleman or his right hon. Friend do something to alleviate the hardship caused by this extraordinary anomaly?
§ Mr. SteeleWell, I appreciate that a lot of odd things happened under the old scheme. So far as the present position is concerned, it is a widowhood benefit, and where there is no widow, there can be no widowhood benefit.