HC Deb 20 May 1965 vol 712 cc1654-5
17. Mr. George Y. Mackie

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent the pensions of police officers, injured in the execution of their duty and compelled to retire prematurely, are affected by the system of averaging recommended by the Oaksey Committee as against the system under the Desborough scheme which was in operation before 1949.

Mr. George Thomas

Where a police officer retires prematurely, the extent to which a pension based on his average pay during his last three years of service would be less than a pension calculated on his actual rate of pay at the time of retirement, would vary according to the officer's length of service, the nature of any recent changes in pay scales and the interval between any such changes and the date of the officer's retirement.

Mr. Mackie

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there are a very large number of anomalies in police pensions, particularly about disability, and that an officer who is injured—I have a case in mind—to 100 per cent. disability through injuries received when tackling a housebreaker would have received almost twice the size of pension if he had been injured in an accident covered by the Industrial Injuries Act? This sort of thing has a very grave effect on recruiting. My constituency is an area from which the Metropolitan Police are recruited. I know of several cases, and the whole question requires looking into.

Mr. Thomas

There are, unfortunately, anomalies in most pensions schemes and I have no doubt that there are anomalies in this one, but the Royal Commission on the Police, in its interim Report submitted in 1960, made no recommendation that the Regulations to which we work should be changed in relation to injury on duty awards.

Mr. Mackie

Surely the hon. Gentleman can recognise injustice and try to put it right, whatever was recommended in a report five years old? Will he take note of that?

Mr. Thomas

Obviously, I will give the utmost consideration to what the hon. Gentleman has said, because we are all mindful of our obligations to police officers injured on duty. I can go no further than say that it will be looked into very carefully by myself.