HC Deb 23 February 1956 vol 549 cc689-90

Considered in Committee under Standing Order No. 84 (Money Committees).—[Queen's Recommendation signified.]

[Sir CHARLES MACANDREW in the Chair]

Motion made, and Question proposed, That, for the purposes of any Act of the present Session to provide for increases in certain pensions, it is expedient to authorise the payment out of moneys provided by Parliament—

  1. A. Of any expenditure by way of—
    1. (i) payments in respect of a pension payable by a government department; or
    2. (ii) any increase in the sums payable under any other enactment out of moneys so provided, which is attributable to any provision of the said Act of the present Session providing for an increase of a pension, being an increase determined in accordance with the provisions of that Act by reference to the basic rate of the pension and additional to any other increase of the pension under, or by reference to increases under, any of the existing Acts;
  2. B. Of any increase in the sums payable under any other enactment out of moneys so provided which is attributable to any provision of the said Act of the present Session providing, with respect to increases of pensions under, or by reference to increases under, any of the existing Acts—
    1. (i) for any restriction on the making of such an increase, or on the amount of the increase, imposed by any of those Acts by reference to the means or income of the pensioner to cease to have effect;
    2. (ii) for the amount of the increase to be that applicable if the pensioner were a married person, whether or not he is in fact a married person;
    3. (iii) for the upper limit of the amount of a pension which may be increased under any of those Acts to cease to have effect, subject to a maximum increase of sixty pounds a year;
      4. 690
    4. (iv) for additional pensions to be eligible for such increases;
    5. (v) for varying the date on which a pension granted in consideration of the surrender of part of another pension is to be deemed to have begun;
  3. C. Of any increase in the sums payable under any other enactment out of moneys so provided which is attributable to any other provision of the said Act of the present Session relating to pensions payable in respect of service in the police, as a special constable, on the civil staff of the metropolitan police, or as a fireman or police fireman.

In this Resolution— pension" has the same meaning as in the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1944; basic rate," in relation to a pension, means the annual rate of the pension apart from any increase granted under, or by reference to increases under, any of the existing Acts or the said Act of the present Session; existing Acts" means the Pensions (Increase) Acts of 1920, 1924, 1944, 1947, 1952 and 1954."—[Mr. H. Brooke.]

9.59 p.m.

Mr. Glenvil Hall (Colne Valley)

I want to ask only one question. I think I already know the answer, but for the sake of the record perhaps I should put it. Do we understand that this Money Resolution is wide enough to cover almost any eventuality which the Committee might reasonably want to consider when we reach that stage? Many of us remember that the Money Resolution attached to the 1952 Act was so tightly drawn that we could do practically nothing when we came to the Committee stage—

It being Ten o'clock, The CHAIRMAN left the Chair to report Progress and ask leave to sit again.

Committee report Progress; to sit again upon Monday next.