HC Deb 07 December 1950 vol 482 cc652-4
The Attorney-General

I beg to move, in page 8, line 8, at the end, to add: Provided that if a person retiring on or after the tenth day of November, nineteen hundred and fifty, within three months after the passing of this Act so elects, this subsection shall not apply to or in relation to pension for which he became eligible on that retirement. (2) If a person exercising an election under the proviso to the preceding subsection within the said period of three months further elects—

  1. (a) eligibility for the said pension shall not satisfy the conditions under which a widow's or children's pension may he granted under this Act; and
  2. (b) any lump sum payable in respect of his service shall not be reduced under section eight of this Act.
(3) Where a person exercises his election under the proviso to subsection (1) of this section, the lump sum payable under this Act in respect of his service shall be diminished by any excess of the said pension paid or payable to him in respect of any period (whether before or after the passing of this Act) before the exercise of the election over the pension which would have been so paid or payable if the provisions of this Act for the reduction of personal pensions had applied during that period. (4) An election authorised to be made under this section shall be in writing, shall be made to the Treasury, and shall be made in the lifetime of the person who makes it. The object of this Amendment is to enable those who will have retired between the date of the introduction of the Bill and the date of its passing to obtain the benefits of the Bill if they desire so to do. When this Bill was introduced there was a reasonable prospect, we thought and hoped, of getting the Bill some time this year, at any rate before Christmas. The delay in the Committee stage has made that very unlikely, and it would be a great misfortune if, because of the delay here, certain personal and administrative arrangements which have already been made were upset. I hope, therefore, that the Committee will agree that the Bill should have this very short retrospective operation.

Mr. Manningham-Buller

We do not object to the proposed Amendment. It covers retirement between the date of 10th November and a period after the passing of the Measure. Does it cover the case of the death occurring of one of these officers between 10th November and three months after the passing of the Bill?

The Attorney-General

Yes.

Mr. Manningham-Buller

I was not quite sure whether it did from the wording.

There was one observation that the right hon. and learned Gentleman made which rather qualifies my welcome of this Amendment, and that was his suggestion that there has been delay in the Committee stage of the Bill. He will recollect, and I am sure he Will agree, that the consideration of this Bill has throughout, I think all its stages, been delayed by the consideration of the Festival of Britain (Sunday Opening) Bill. If the right hon. and learned Gentleman reckons the time occupied by this Bill, he will not find it so very long, and I could not for one moment assent to his suggestion that this Bill has been given either too much or too little consideration.

9.15 p.m.

For the reasons I indicated on Second Reading, it is our duty to examine the operation of this Bill in detail and try to make it, whatever the right hon. and learned Gentleman may say, as good a Bill as we can. That is the duty of this Committee, and I am sorry that the right hon. and learned Gentleman made the suggestion that there had been delay in this Committee, and that that was the cause for the inclusion of this Amendment. I do not recognise that as a valid argument. I think it right that this Committee and another place should have a proper opportunity of considering this Bill, but it would obviously be wrong that those who may be affected should have their rights affected by the time spent in the proper consideration of this Measure. It is for that reason that we agree to this proposed Amendment.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 13 ordered to stand part of the Bill.