§ 15. Mr. Hamiltonasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether, pending the introduction and passing of the necessary legislation, he will take steps to provide some interim financial help to old-age pensioners and others who will otherwise have insufficient to live on in the approaching winter months.
§ 13. Mr. Murrayasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what immediate steps are to be taken to relieve the plight of old-age pensioners.
§ Mr. PeakeImmediate help is available to any pensioner whose resources are insufficient for his needs in the form of National Assistance.
§ Mr. HamiltonThis answer has whiskers on it. Can the Minister advance any insuperable obstacle to granting the wish of almost the entire community for an immediate increase in pensions? As the Minister accepted a resolution not so long ago on this very issue, can he now define what he means by "immediate"?
§ Mr. PeakeAs the hon. Member is aware, the experience both of 1951 and 1952 is that the increase of insurance pensions is a cumbersome operation. It involves the issue and preparation of seven or eight million order books. The pace of the operation depends very largely upon the speed with which we can get the necessary legislation through this House.
§ Dr. SummerskillHaving regard to the promises and half-promises which have been made to old-age pensioners in the course of the last year and to the fact that their expectation of life is necessarily limited, cannot the right hon. Gentleman at this stage give a specific date?
§ Mr. PeakeNo, Sir. I cannot give a specific date until we have received the two reports which we are awaiting—the report of the Government Actuary and the report of the Phillips Committee—but I will give this assurance, that so far as the Government are concerned not a day will be wasted as soon as these reports are available.
§ Miss BurtonAs the Minister has just suggested that National Assistance is available, would he tell the House whether National Assistance is available for food, except in so far as that food is required for medicinal purposes?
§ Mr. PeakeNational Assistance is available in all cases of need, and I would impress upon the House that these scales of National Assistance give a better standard today than at any time in the six years before 1952. I would also impress upon the House that in no fewer than 500,000 cases, in addition to the scale rate the Board are paying discretionary additions to that rate.
§ Mr. WoodburnIs there any restriction on the National Assistance Board paying supplementary pensions where the pensioners can produce evidence that that is necessary—in other words, evidence of need?
18. Mr. J. T. Hallasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if, in view of the Government's intention to await the reports of the Phillips Committee and the Quinquennial Review of National Insurance before increasing pensions to the aged and other handicapped persons, he will give consideration to an immediate increase in the rates of National Assistance to meet the higher cost of living in the interim period.
§ Mr. PeakeAny question of revising the Assistance scale is, under the statute, a matter for the National Assistance Board in the first instance. I am sure they have the matter constantly in mind.
§ Dr. KingIs the Minister aware that at both the major party conferences during the Recess only one individual in the whole of the two conferences voted against a resolution demanding that something be done for old-age pensioners at once? Will he not do something about it?
§ Mr. PeakeI think that the answer which I have already given shows that the Government intend to waste no time at all in improving all these old-age pensions.
20. Brigadier Clarkeasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance when he expects to be able to make an announcement regarding increases in old-age, widows and disabled ex-Service pensions.
§ 24. Miss Burtonasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he is now in a position to state the approximate date upon which old-age pensioners may expect their promised increase in pension.
§ 31. Mr. Jayasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will now say at what date the Government intends to raise the retirement pension.
Brigadier ClarkeWill my right hon. Friend try to speed up the announcement as I feel that the old-age pensioners are suffering considerably? Further, when he 1579 does make the announcement, will he try to speed up the payment as well?
§ Mr. PeakeI shall certainly undertake to lose no possible time in making the announcement which I have promised, but I stress that the report of the Government Actuary, in particular, is essential to a proper consideration of what the contributions to the scheme are to be for the future. We must also consider the contributors as well as the beneficiaries under any insurance plan.
§ Mr. JayDoes the Minister not realise that it is in the winter that pensioners suffer the most hardship? Can he confirm that, on the Government's present intentions, there is no prospect of the pension being raised before the end of the winter?
§ Mr. PeakeI cannot confirm or deny any suggestion so far as the date is concerned until I have had the reports to which I have referred and have made the announcement I have promised.
§ Mr. McKibbinIs my right hon. Friend; aware that at the annual meeting of the Inniskillings Association it was stated that, as the payment of war disability pensions had been delayed so long, it was hoped that when the restoration of their value was finally granted the benefits would be back-dated at least two years?
§ Miss BurtonCould we not have a little humanity in this matter? Is the Minister aware, or has he the faintest conception, of what this eternal waiting is like to the old people? What use is it to them to know that perhaps after Christmas something will be done for them? Is the right hon. Gentleman prepared to give an assurance to the House that if the price of tea is increased in the immediate future, he will take steps to ensure that the old people are not penalised thereby?
§ Mr. PeakeI hope that the hon. Lady will not get too cross with me about this. The fact is, as I have stated, that persons on Assistance today are more comfortable than they were at any time between 1946 and 1952—[HON. MEMBERS: "The same old story"]—and that the Board are giving discretionary additions to the scale 1580 rates mare freely today than at any previous time.
Miss WardDoes my right hon. Friend's answer mean that he is not going to make a statement on the disabled pensions before Christmas, in view of the fact that at the Conservative Conference it was announced, I understand, that he might be able to do something by action earlier? Will my right hon. Friend tell hon. Members opposite that when their party was in office, eternal waiting was eternal?
§ Mr. PeakeI certainly hope to make a statement regarding the war disability pensions at the same time as I make a statement about all the other pensions.
§ Mr. BeswickIf the Minister is so certain that the pensioner is better off now than at any time since 1946, why is he so certain that he will increase the rates at the end of the year?
§ Mr. PeakeI was talking of persons on Assistance, which is quite a different thing from the insurance pension.
§ 23. Dr. Strossasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what would be the scales of payment for retirement pensions if their purchasing power was now raised to the level they commanded in 1946.
§ 26. Mr. J. Hyndasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what amounts would be required to be added to the present retirement pensions for a single person and for a married couple, to restore the value of these pensions to that of 1946.
32. Mr. Jegerasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what increase of old-age pension would be necessary to bring its purchasing power to the level of October, 1951.
§ 36. Mrs. Mannasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance by what weekly amount retirement pensions will require to be raised per person, and per couple, to bring them to 1946 purchasing standards; and how soon these increases will operate.
§ Mr. PeakeAs the reply contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate a table in the OFFICIAL REPORT. 1581 As regards the second part of Question No. 36, I would refer the hon. Lady to the reply I have already given on this point.
§ Dr. StrossMay I ask the Minister whether the new scales or the increase that is appropriate is the figure he has in mind himself for the increase that will be given to the old-age pensioner?
§ Mr. PeakeI cannot at this stage, until I have received the reports to which I have referred earlier, make any statement as to the amount of the increase in the pension. I can, however, tell the hon. Member the figure which, I think, he has in mind: that is, that at the present rate it would require approximately 4s. 9d. to restore the weekly value of a single person's pension to the rate at which it was originally fixed in 1946, and it would require an addition of 11d. a week to restore the value of the pension today to what it was in October, 1951.
§ Mrs. MannWhilst I do not agree with the 4s. 9d. and the 11d., it is good to know that the Minister is aware of the amount that would be required. Now that he knows this, could he not overcome the difficulty of the great delay in re-writing the pension books merely by instructing that at the post offices all old-age pensioners should get an interim payment on production of their pension books until the new rates are in operation?
§ Mr. PeakeI doubt whether the hon. Lady realises that retirement pensions are not all paid at standard rates. Many of them are paid at specially high rates on account of deferred retirement and others have to be reduced on account of a deficient record of contributions.
§ Mr. F. M. BennettDoes my right hon. Friend have the comparable figure for 1951, before the Socialists went out of office, of the pensions that were then given to old-age pensioners? If not, will he include it in the list which he circulates?
§ Mr. JayThe Minister now knows, does he not, that the majority of pensioners—those not on National Assistance, at any rate—are much worse off than they were in 1946?
§ Mr. J. HyndAs the 1946 figure was given immediately after the war when the country was in a very desperate state, could we have an assurance from the Minister that the maximum ambition of the present Government will not be to give the old-age pensioners after another 10 years of national development the equivalent of what we were able to give them at the end of the war?
§ Mr. PeakeOur declared objective is to make good to the pensioners the loss that they suffered during the years of inflation under Socialism.
§ Mr. CallaghanWhen the Minister has finished making his party points, will he consider this particular aspect? If the old-age pensioners are not just to wait on administrative convenience—and we understand the difficulty of re-writing the books—will he give an assurance that any increase announced before Christmas will be back dated to that time no matter when the legislation goes through?
§ Mr. PeakeThe first thing we have to do is to get Parliamentary authority by means of a statute for increasing pensions, and the point made by the hon. Member can be debated during the progress of the Bill.
§ Mr. Robson BrownWhile appreciating the Minister's problem with regard to administrative difficulties, might I ask whether he has seen the very thoughtful article in the "Daily Mail" this morning—
§ Mr. Robson Brown—dealing with the problem of the old-age pensioners, and will he give consideration to that?
§ Mr. PeakeAny pensioner who at the moment is in need should go to the National Assistance Board, and I hope hon. Members on both sides of the House, if they come across cases of pensioners who are in need, will strongly recommend them to go to the Assistance Board.
§ Following is the table:
§ On the basis of the Interim Index of Retail Prices and the earlier Cost of Living Index which it superseded, the figures, to the nearest 1d., are:
| Retirement Pensions | 1946 | October, 1951 | ||||||||||
| Single rate | Married rate | Single rates* | Married rates* | |||||||||
| s. | d. | s. | d. | s. | d. | s. | d. | s. | d. | s. | d. | |
| Rates then in payment | 26 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| Rates now equivalent in purchasing power | 37 | 3 | 60 | 3 | 28 | 11 | 33 | 5 | 46 | 9 | 55 | 8 |
| Excess over existing rates | 4 | 9 | 6 | 3 | — | 11 | — | 1 | 8 | |||
| * The rates of 30s. and 50s. introduced by the 1951 Act were only payable to men below age 70 and women below age 65 if they had reached the age of 65 or 60 as the case may be by 1st October, 1951. |
§ 27. Mr. Chetwyndasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what would be the cost of an immediate increase in the retirement pension of 2s. 6d. and 4s. a week, respectively.
§ Mr. PeakeThe immediate cost to the National Insurance Fund of increasing retirement pensions by 2s. 6d. a week would be about £30 million a year and for an increase of 4s. a week, about £45 million a year. These figures would, of course, increase in future years.
§ Mr. ChetwyndIs the Minister aware that the House will willingly give him the whole of the legislation to provide either of these figures within a week? As the Prime Minister wishes it, and as the whole party opposite say they wish it, why is he waiting for this report? Why not make an immediate increase now?
§ Mr. PeakeI am very glad to have the assurance from the hon. Member that the legislation will get an expedited passage, but the necessity for the report rests upon the procedure laid down in the Act of 1946 passed by the party opposite, which was that there should be a full review of the insurance scheme at the end of the first five years.
§ 29. Mr. Benceasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what representations he has received respecting the position of old-age pensioners in Scotland.
§ Mr. PeakeI have recently received representations from a number of local authorities in Scotland advocating an increase in the rates of old-age pensions.
§ Mr. BenceIs not the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Council of the Burgh 1584 of Clydebank sent a resolution to the Secretary of State for Scotland asking him to make representations to the right hon. Gentleman to increase immediately the pensions of old people, and would he, when consulting with the Secretary of State, seek his advice on the new arithematical formula which gives certain financial benefits in certain directions and apply the same formula to increase the benefits to old-age pensioners?
§ Mr. PeakeMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I are always pleased to receive suggestions from local authorities in Scotland, and I am glad to tell the hon. Gentleman that 31 resolutions from Scottish local authorities upon this question have been passed to me. I welcome this widespread support for the policy I announced on behalf of the Government at the end of last July.