§ 44. Mr. Marquandasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he will amend the Everybody's Guide to National Insurance so as to explain clearly the conditions laid down in Section 21 of the National Insurance Act, 1946, which determine when a woman is entitled to a retirement pension by virtue of her husband's insurance.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI am, of course, grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for writing to me about the point which he has in mind, which relates to the special position of the wives of late age entrants as a result of the provision of Section 71 of the Act of 1946, under which these pensioners are deemed to have retired on 5th July, 1958. A special leaflet has been issued in respect of late age entrants, and I do not think that Everybody's Guide to National Insurance, which is intended to give a brief survey of the whole scheme, can or should deal with the details of this particular and once-for-all problem.
§ Mr. MarquandIs the special leaflet now available on the counters of the right hon. Gentleman's offices throughout the country?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterIt has been freely available in the period preceding 5th July, which is the operative time. I do not know whether stocks in particular offices have now been exhausted, but the leaflet has certainly been available.