§ 11. Commander Purseyasked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty if he will state the increases in the ordinary Armed Forces widows' pensions, on 1st January, 1963, for the over-60 widow of a captain, Royal Navy, a chief petty officer and an able seaman, pensioned under the 1950 code, where the husband gave full-time service since 31st August, 1950, bereavement occurred after 4th November, 1958, and rates drawn are maximum rates.
Mr. C. Ian Off-EwingIf the widow is under the age of 70 the increases are£47 1s. 0d.,£9 3s. 0d. and£4 16s. 0d. a year respectively. If the widow is aged 70 or more the respective increases are£67 ls. Od.,£28 1s. 0d. and£14 11s. 0d. a year.
These figures are based on 27 years' service in the case of the chief petty officer and 22 in that of the able seaman.
§ Commander PurseyWhen will the Service Ministers and the Minister of Defence produce a worth-while pension scheme for the widows of other ranks and give them more pennies, before giving large increases to senior officers' widows?
§ Mr. Orr-EwingI would remind the hon. and gallant Gentleman that the schemes of 1959 and 1962 gave the same 431 percentage increase to widows of officers and of ratings. We are looking at this matter with sympathy.
§ Sir A. V. HarveyIn spite of the recent increase in Service pensions for widows, is not my hon. Friend aware that they are still worse off than they were in 1952, taking into account the increased cost of living? Would it not be a good thing to make an adjustment for these old people? It would cost only about£300.000 a year to rectify this serious situation.
§ Mr. Orr-EwingWe all sympathise with these widows, but it is not a matter which could be done unilaterally. I will certainly draw my right hon. Friend's attention to it.
§ 12. Commander Purseyasked the Civil Lard of the Admiralty if he will state the increases in the ordinary Armed Forces pensions, on 1st January, 1963, for an over-60 captain, Royal Navy, a chief petty officer and an able seaman, pensioned under the 1950 code, where the rates drawn are maximum rates.
§ Mr. C. Ian Orr-EwingIf under 70 years of age the captain would receive an increase of£141 2s. 0d. a year; the C.P.O.£27 7s. 0d. a year; and the A.B.£100—I am sorry,£10 4s. 0d. a year.
If aged 70 or more the captain would receive an increase of£161 2s. 0d. a year; the C.P.O.£47 7s. 0d. a year, and the A.B.£30 4s. 0d. a year.
These figures are based on 27 years' service in the case of the C.P.O. and 22 years' service in that of the A.B.
§ Commander PurseyI am glad the Civil Lord corrected the figure of£100 to£10 in his Answer.
When will the Service Ministers and the Minister of Defence produce a pensions increase scheme for other ranks on the 1919 1½d. per day pension per year of service, who have received no increases in the basic pension paid since the last war? When are we going to deal with this question of the ½d. scheme introduced by William IV in 1831?
§ Mr. Orr-EwingPerhaps the hon. and gallant Gentleman will put down a Question about the 1919 pension. I think he has selected the case of an able seaman with 22 years' service. Owing to the ambition of young men in the Navy 432 and the chances of promotion, very few seamen—I think less than 2 per cent.—who serve 22 years finish their service in that same category.
§ Mr. WillisDoes not the Civil Lord think that the figures that he has given in reply to this and the preceding Question indicate that this method of increasing pensions by the same percentage throughout is quite unfair to the people with a smaller pension?
§ Mr. Orr-EwingI think we have made improvements in the Pensions (Increase) Acts. The earlier Acts in 1944, 1947 and 1952 were designed to relieve hardship in its absolute sense. The 1959 and 1962 Acts were aimed at dealing with the relative hardship suffered, and this situation has improved considerably.