HC Deb 04 July 1955 vol 543 cc748-50
7. Mr. Dye

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many widows in receipt of the basic widows' pension of 10s. per week have to pay the new rate of insurance contribution; and how many now receive an additional National Assistance allowance in order to meet the increased contribution.

Mr. Peake

I regret that the figure asked for in the first part of the Question is not available, but a widow receiving National Assistance would ordinarily not be paying contributions, and the question of making special additions to National Assistance allowances would not arise.

8. Mr. Hector Hughes

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will now take steps to ensure that widows of the First World War are placed on the same footing as widows of the Second World War as regards eligibility for pensions.

Mr. Peake

In February, 1946, widows of the 1914 war were, broadly speaking, placed on the same footing as regards eligibility for pension as widows of the 1939 war, if the husband's death took place after 2nd September, 1939. The question of carrying eligibility further back than this date has been considered by previous Governments since the war but found to be impracticable. I cannot hold out any expectation of re-opening the matter at this stage.

Mr. Hughes

Does not that answer mean that the older widows are still treated worse than the younger widows, and is it not a terrible anomaly that widows of the First World War should be treated worse than widows of the Second World War? Will the Minister take steps to remove that anomaly?

Mr. Peake

No; what my Answer means is that to re-open cases in which death occurred before 2nd September, 1939, would raise a great many hopes which would subsequently be doomed to be disappointed on account of the difficulty, after this lapse of time, of proving that a man's death was due to service in the First World War.

10. Mr. H. Hynd

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many widows in Accrington are drawing pensions at the 10s. per week rate.

Mr. Peake

I regret that this information is not available.

Mr. Hynd

Can the Minister devise some machinery for giving hon. Members this information, because we are receiving correspondence about it and it would be useful if hon. Members had an idea of the size of this exceptional problem?

Mr. Peake

The reason why I cannot give the figures for particular places is based on the fact that our records are kept centrally. There are about 155,000 of these 10s. widows altogether, and if Accrington is an average sort of place, and if the hon. Gentleman divides that number by the number of constituencies represented in this House, he will get an approximate idea.

Dr. Summerskill

Does the Minister recall that, during a recent debate, he was asked by hon. Members on both sides of the House to expedite consideration of the position of these 10s. widows, and was also asked if he would communicate the views of the House to the National Insurance Advisory Committee? Has he done that?

Mr. Peake

There is a subsequent Question on the Order Paper dealing with that matter. This Question is limited to the 10s. widows in Accrington.

15. Captain Pilkington

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he can now say when he expects the Report of the National Insurance Advisory Committee on the subject of the 10s. widows pension.

Mr. Peake

This subject is part of a wider review which the Advisory Committee has been asked to make of all the dependency provisions of the National Insurance Scheme. I do not anticipate that their Report will be available before the Summer Recess.

Dr. Summerskill

Perhaps I may ask this as a supplementary to my Question about the Accrington widows. The Minister will recall that he has been asked time after time to do this. It is perfectly simple. He can ask the National Insurance Advisory Committee to give priority to this matter. Every hon. Member, on both sides I think, receives letters from representatives of this particular category of widow. Can I ask the right hon. Gentleman to be a little sympathetic and to do this immediately?

Mr. Peake

This problem of the 10s. widow is part of the very large question of the set-up of widows' benefits which we adopted in 1946. The Advisory Committee is looking into it. I think it is very important that it should not be hustled or hurried over its Report, particularly as there is no hardship at the present time amongst this class of widow. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] A much smaller proportion of 10s. widows has to seek National Assistance than has any other class of National Insurance beneficiaries. About 75 per cent. to 80 per cent. of these widows are in full employment and earning good wages.