§ Order for Second Reading, read.
§ 1.10 p.m.
§ Mr. Gilbert Longden (Hertfordshire, South-West)Mr. Speaker has ruled that this Bill, which received its First Reading in this House last November, may not be proceeded with because the Government have now introduced a Bill which we shall consider in Committee next Wednesday and which covers its major points. I ask the indulgence of the House to make a brief, explanation upon the way in which these two Bills, in fact, bear relation to each other.
Clause 1 of my Bill sought to enable a women who is in receipt of a widowed mother's allowance or a widow's pension to earn as much as she is able and willing to earn without her earnings affecting her allowance or pension in any way. This it would have done by repealing Section 17 (3) of the National Insurance Act, 1946, which now provides that with the exception of 30s. her pension is reduced by 1s. for every shilling earned in excess.
Under Clause 2 (3) of the Government's Bill, a widow in receipt of a widow's allowance or pension is to be permitted as from the appointed day to 1554 earn up to 40s. in any one week without suffering any reduction in her benefit for the following week. Moreover, it is provided that in no case is the benefit of a widowed mother to be reduced by more than 30s. a week. I am satisfied that these provisions are reasonable. I believe it to be against the public interest that widows with children should be encouraged by any fiscal arrangement which we make in this House to work whole time. On the other hand, my object was to enable them to supplement their pensions by part-time earnings without undue penalisation. I think the Government's proposal achieves a just compromise.
The second thing my Bill attempted to do was to raise the earnings limit of all retirement pensioners of either six from 20s. to 40s. a week, and, secondly, to enable a retirement pensioner to average out his casual earnings over a period of four weeks. I am very glad that the right hon. Lady the Minister has been able to arrive at the same conclusion, and I am grateful to her for so doing, because, under Clause 4 (5) of the National Insurance Bill, all men who retire at 65 and all women who retire at 60 are to be able during the first five years of retirement to earn up to 40s. in any one week without their pensions being affected.
We know that after reaching the ages of 70 and 65, respectively, men and women can earn as much as they like. There are some who claim that everyone should be able to do that when they first retire. That, I think, is to misconceive the nature of the pension which is a pension due on retirement at the earliest pensionable age, and not an old age pension payable by virtue of having reached that pensionable age. I think that today 40s. is a reasonable sum in this regard, and I am grateful to the Government because, of course, they are in a position to give practical effect to this Measure, and I am not.
There remains only the proposal that the casual earnings should be averaged. It is not only in the interests of the individual, but also in the interests of the public that people who retire at the earlier age, either for health reasons or because of the nature of their employment, or, perhaps, because they cannot procure permanent employment, should 1555 be able to work part time without undue penalisation. The right hon. Lady the Minister has stated on many occasions that this would prevent undue administrative difficulties. Therefore, I have had the benefit of the advice and help of my hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Summers), and he and other hon. Friends of mine have put down an Amendment to the National Insurance Bill which we shall be discussing in Committee next Wednesday. I hope that the right hon. Lady will be able to come along on that day to explain what are these undue and insuperable difficulties. For these reasons, and in accordance with Mr. Speaker's Ruling, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the Bill.
§ Order discharged; Bill withdrawn.