HC Deb 01 April 1971 vol 814 cc1811-3

10.0 p.m.

The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Richard Sharpies)

I beg to move, That the Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations. 1971, a draft of which was laid before this House on 4th March, be approved. These Regulations amend the Police Pensions Regulations, 1971, by easing the conditions which need to be fulfilled before the pensions of certain police widows may be increased at the discretion of the policy authority.

Before 1948 police officers did not contribute to the State pension scheme. As a result, certain police widows are not entitled to contributory National Insurance pensions. It has been the policy, since 1948, that police authorities should have discretion to increase the police pensions which are paid to these widows so that no such widow is worse off than she would have been had her husband's contributions qualified her for the National Insurance pension.

Entitlement to a National Insurance pension, which is at present £5 a week, is subject to a number of conditions. One of these is that the marriage must have lasted for three years, and another that the widow had attained the age of 50, either at the date of her husband's death or at the time she ceased to receive a widowed mother's allowance.

Under the National Insurance (Old persons' and widows' pensions and attendance allowance) Act, 1970, for National Insurance purposes the stipulation about the length of the marriage is done away with, and the condition of having attained age 50 is lowered to age 40. But at the same time the National Insurance pensions of widows who benefit through the relaxed conditions will be the normal £5 a week scaled down by 7 per cent. for each year by which their age was under 50 at the material time.

The draft Police Pensions Regulations now before the House make corresponding relaxations in the conditions subject to which discretionary increases in police widows' pensions will be payable.

The draft Regulations are expressed to come into operation on 5th April, 1971, the same day as the corresponding provisions for National Insurance become effective. They have been agreed by the Police Council for the United Kingdom on which the local authority and police staff associations are represented.

10.3 p.m.

Mr. Merlyn Rees (Leeds, South)

My hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Alfred Morris), who is the consultant adviser to the Police Federation, has just told me that these proposals were agreed by the Police Council for the United Kingdom and conveyed to the Secretary of State who eventually consulted the Police Advisory Board under Section 46 of the Police Act, 1964. All of this arose from agreement and in that sense all is well.

I have had no representations at all as a shadow Minister and I simply seek to raise two points with the Minister. I observe that it was just on 8th February that the Regulations bringing together into one instrument the provisions of the Police Pensions Regulations, 1966, and the nine subsequent amending Regulations were made, thus providing a comprehesive pensions scheme. Why, so soon after 8th February, has it been necessary to make this Amendment?

There have been changes in National Insurance and social security in the last day or two. Does this mean we will need another Amendment to deal with that? It may be there is some easy way of avoiding such an Amendment. Apart from that we on this side of the House welcome the Regulations.

10.5 p.m.

Mr. Sharpies

I should like to say, first, how very glad I am to see sitting on the Opposition Front Bench the hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Alfred Morris), and to know that he will be looking after the interests of the Police Federation in the House. We all very much welcome his appointment, and I much look forward to working with him in his new and very responsible duties.

The hon. Member for Leeds, South (Mr. Merlyn Rees) asked why these amending Regulations have been brought forward so soon after the consolidation Measure. It is an important point, and I apologise to the House for having to do this. The reason is that the necessary consultation had not taken place when the consolidating Measures were brought forward, with the result that these alterations could not then be included in them.

The same thing goes for the steps that will be necessary to meet the changes in the National Insurance Scheme announced yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security. Naturally, further consultations will have to take place, and I very much regret that amending Regulations will almost certainly be needed to meet the police interest. It is unfortunate that one has to keep on bringing forward amending Regulations as circumstances change, and, from time to time, consolidation Measures are brought forward. I regret that necessity, but I am sure that the House will appreciate the reasons for it.

Question put and agreed to.