HC Deb 11 July 1956 vol 556 cc546-8 The age at which a pension may be granted under the principal Act shall be fifty instead of fifty-five years, and accordingly the word "fifty" shall be substituted for the words "fifty-five" in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section one of that Act, in subsection (1) of section nine of that Act (in both places where those words occur) and in subsection (2) of section one of the Pensions (Governors of Dominions, &c.) Act, 1947.—[Mr. Hare.]

Brought up, and read the First time.

Mr. Hare

I beg to move, That the Clause be read a Second time.

The object of this Clause is to reduce from 55 to 50 the age at which a pension may be granted to a Governor. I do not think that the Committee will be surprised when I say that this reduction is not a completely new proposal. There is, in fact, already provision in the Pensions (Governors of Dominions, &c.) Acts for granting a pension at an age earlier than 55.

Under Section 1 (1) of the 1911 Act, a pension may be granted to a Governor who has served the requisite number of years but has not reached the age of 55. It can be granted on two main grounds, if he has retired or been removed from his office because of its abolition, or if he has become, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, incapable of discharging the duties of his office by reason of some infirmity of mind or body.

Moreover, Section 9 of the 1911 Act provides that, in a special case, a Governor who would be entitled to a pension if he had reached the age of 55 may be granted one under that age provided that it is impracticable to find him other appropriate employment in the public service and it is, at the same time, in the interests of the public service to grant him a pension.

Cases have arisen where retirement at an age earlier than 55 was desirable but where it was not, in fact, appropriate to apply the provisions of the 1911 Act which I have just mentioned. In particular, the application of the provision in Section 9 of that Act could perhaps be regarded as a reflection on the person concerned, and such a reflection would not be appropriate in the cases for which the new Clause would provide. Therefore, Her Majesty's Government proposed that, in appropriate cases, provision should be made for granting a pension between the ages of 50 and 55. I can assure the Committee that these cases are likely to be very rare.

My right hon. Friend does not intend to treat 50 as the normal age of retirement for governors. Indeed, in the great majority of cases, there is no reason why a Governor should not serve till the age of 55 or even beyond. With those reasons, I hope that the Committee will accept the Clause.

Mr. Emrys Hughes

Will it be possible, under the terms of this new Clause, for a Governor to be retired at the age of 50 and then for him to come home and become a director of one or two quite prosperous companies?

Mr. Hare

Or a Member of Parliament. Once a man ceases to be a Governor he becomes a free man, and, I suppose, can do what he likes.

Mr. Arthur Creech Jones (Wakefield)

May I ask whether the initiative to retire may be enjoyed, or is likely to be enjoyed, by the Governor concerned? In other words, if a Governor wishes to withdraw from the service, may he exercise the option of withdrawing or must the initiative to withdraw come from the Secretary of State himself?

I think that there is some virtue in a Clause of this kind because, speaking from experience, there are Governors who tend to become tired in well-doing, whose faculties are not always quite as acute after the age of 50 as they were and where it would certainly be in the interest of the public service if they could be retired. I believe that there is sometimes great wisdom in a Secretary of State having the power to cut out what I call the "dead wood." If that flexibility is there, and if that discretion is vested in the Secretary of State, then I think that there is a very distinct gain to the public service. Moreover, it stimulates Governors not to grow weary and to keep up a high standard of action. It helps things along and keeps Governors on their toes if they know that this power can be exercised by the Secretary of State at an earlier age than 55. As I have said, I think that there would be some virtue in the adoption of this Clause.

Mr. Emrys Hughes

Can the right hon. Gentleman assure the Committee that the dead wood will not be grafted on somewhere else?

Mr. Hare

I hope it will not.

In reply to the right hon. Member for Wakefield (Mr. Creech Jones), I would say that the initiative can come from either side. It can come at the suggestion of the Secretary of State or from the Governor concerned, but the actual permission rests with the Secretary of State. I think that that covers the right hon. Gentleman's inquiry and that this Clause commends itself to him.

Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill.