§ 25. Mr. Simmonsasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance the number of war widows aged 40 years or over who are not eligible for a rent allowance from his Department; how many of them are receiving National Assistance; and whether he will consider the extension of the rent allowance to all war widows who are unfit to work.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterRent allowance, as the hon. Gentleman knows, is payable only to war widows with children. The number of war widows over 40 years of age who are not eligible for this allowance is 135,000, of whom about 3,000 are in receipt of National Assistance. I do not think that an extension of an allowance, designed to help a widow with children to provide accommodation, to a childless widow who is unable to work, would be the right method of giving help.