War-Disabled Pensioners (Hansard, 8 February 1960)

§ 4. Mr. Peyton
asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what would be the cost to the Exchequer of making the age addition for war-disabled payable at 60 years of age, instead of 65 years of age as at present.

§ Mr. Boyd-Carpenter
About £600,000 a year at present.

§ Mr. Peyton
Would not my right hon. Friend agree that this is really quite a small sum? Would he consider the possibility at an early date of implementing the suggestion contained in the Question, because I am sure he will be aware of the immense hardship, added hardship, which is brought by old age to these men who are seriously and pathetically disabled? It would make an immense difference to them.

§ Mr. Boyd-Carpenter
The object of the age allowance, as I told the House when we introduced it in 1957, was to deal with the kind of problem to which my hon. Friend refers and which, I think the House will agree, is plainly the more acute the older one gets. As regards extending the age downwards—the matter with which my hon. Friend's Question is concerned—I am bound to say that, although he estimates that the sum involved is very moderate in size, I am very doubtful whether, if and when more money became available, this should necessarily be the first priority.

§ Mr. Eden
Would my right hon. Friend bear in mind that the problem for a man disabled at the age of 60 is just as acute as for a man at the age of 65, and on the ground of acuteness only will he give serious consideration to further reducing the age condition? Will my right hon. Friend consider removing war-disabled pensioners from the category of industrial injuries and treating them as a separate, special case worthy of special consideration?

§ Mr. Boyd-Carpenter
In reply to the last part of my hon. Friend's question, the war pensions Instruments are wholly distinct from the Industrial Injuries Act. It is the policy of this Government, as it has been the policy of all previous 4 Governments, to give preference and priority in our social services to the war disabled. In reply to the earlier part of my hon. Friend's question, I think that the weight of evidence is rather against it. Certainly when we went into the matter before introducing the allowance there was the clearest indication that the cases of greatest difficulty were in the higher age groups.