§ 9. Mr. Walkerasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what proportion of those persons who apply to the National Assistance Board for a refund of National Health Service charges subsequently obtain a supplementary pension.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI regret that those figures are not available.
§ Mr. WalkerWill my right hon. Friend consider endeavouring to obtain these figures, or, at least, figures that would give an indication of the proportion of people who are obtaining such a supplementary pension, as that would provide us with an indication of the number of people who are entitled to National Assistance but are not at present receiving it?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterIt is the fact, so the Assistance Board tells me, that in a number of cases where an application is made for a refund, the discussions with the person concerned enable a supplementary pension to be put into payment. The reason why there are no figures is that records are not kept showing the number of these individual applications which have such a sequel. I will, however, discuss with the Board whether it is possible to meet the point raised by my hon. Friend.