§ 45. Mr. Weatherillasked the Minister of Social Security if she is aware that her personal message to retired people, in the form of a newspaper advertisement, was inaccurate and misleading to pensioners who are in receipt of income other than retirement pension or other National Insurance benefits, such as those who receive maintenance payments; and what action she will take.
§ Miss HerbisonIf my message about supplementary pensions was to be effective, it had to be short and simple. I am sorry that a constituent of the hon. Member should have been misled, but the message did advise readers to get the guide and claim form S.P.1 and in this leaflet the position about maintenance payments is clearly stated.
§ Mr. WeatherillIs it not wrong for the right hon. Lady to issue messages in the Press which are totally inaccurate? She said in her message that 32
Up to £2 of any part-time earnings will be ignored. So will at least £1 of other income …Will not she agree with my constituent who says that even small promises by this Government should be taken with a pinch of salt?
§ Miss HerbisonNo, I could not agree with the hon. Gentleman's constituent. The advertisement clearly stated,
I cannot of course tell you all about the scheme here. But you can easily find out more by getting the guide and claim form S.P.1 ".The fact that 600,000 new applications were made and two-thirds of those have been successful shows that the vast majority of people would not agree with the hon. Gentleman's constituent.