HC Deb 15 March 1955 vol 538 cc1167-8

Motion made, and Question proposed, That a sum, not exceeding £16,448,000, be granted to Her Majesty, to defray the expense of non-effective services, which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1956.

5.30 p.m.

Mr. Swingler

We should not allow this Vote to pass without warning the spokesman of the Admiralty that hon. Members on both sides of the Committee are far from satisfied with the position of retired pay and conditions in the Services. I do not propose to deploy the case again, because the Under-Secretary of State for War was given a considerable shaking on the subject by some of his hon. Friends a few nights ago, but none of the Service Ministers must feel satisfied with the meagre retired pay and pensions concessions given by the Government last year.

Those who have really studied this subject reveal the fact that there still remain officers and men who are drawing pensions the rates of which were fixed as far back as 1878. There are some of these in all three Services, and it shows the scandalous state of affairs which has been existing for some time owing to the neglect of these pensioners by successive Governments. I hope the Civil Lord will pass on to his right hon. Friend the First Lord of the Admiralty the reminder that we have not forgotten this subject, and that it will undoubtedly be raised during the coming year.

Mr. G. R. Howard

I wish to associate myself with the remarks of the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mr. Swingler), and to make a suggestion which might be considered possibly in the coming year. It was made to me by a chief yeoman of signals, who lives in my constituency and is a great friend or mine. He said that if a man goes through one of the Services and then enters Government service—he himself has joined the Post Office—could not a way be found of working out his pension so that he has a continuous pension for his Government service, and not one for the Navy and then a different scheme of pension when he goes into the Post Office? He suggests that it might be a help to a man who is going into the Navy to know that if he serves the Government in any way he will get a pension which would not suffer by reason of his entering another branch of the Government's service.

Mr. Digby

I am quite aware of the feelings of hon. Members of the Committee on this subject of retired pay and pensions, but it is a question of the Government's general policy, and I think the Committee will understand that I cannot possibly add anything to the Government statements which have been made.

I will certainly look into the suggestion put by my hon. Friend the Member for St. Ives (Mr. G. R. Howard), although I was under the impression that something of the kind could be done if someone served in one of the Services and then joined a civil Department. I thought he would be allowed to count his naval time some way or other, but without notice I could not give the Committee any more information.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved, That a sum, not exceeding £16,448,000, be granted to Her Majesty, to defray the expense of non-effective services, which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1956.