HC Deb 11 April 1972 vol 834 cc1007-8
7. Mr. Skinner

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many letters and deputations he has received from retirement pensioners and their associations.

Mr. Dean

About 3,300 letters and three deputations in the last six months.

Mr. Skinner

Now that the Budget euphoria has died down, is the Undersecretary aware that it will do little or nothing to help the old-age pensioner to exist? [An Hon. Member: "Nonsense."] When he next replies to these letters, perhaps he could explain to a few of these people how a miserly 75 percent.—75p—increase—[Interruption.]—I nearly slipped up then—will enable them to buy a cheap mink coat for the winter?

Mr. Dean

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman wants to be fair—[Laughter.]—I will amend that. I hope that the hon. Gentleman wants to be fair. There was a substantial increase last September. The annual review comes into operation for the first time this year and will provide another substantial increase, which will more than cater for the increase in prices.

Mr. Redmond

Has my hon. Friend seen the recent report of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, which shows that people with the lowest incomes are 28 per cent. better off under the present Government than they were under the previous Government, and is he aware that those figures were produced before the Budget and not after it?

Mr. Dean

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for reminding the House of those impressive figures.

Mr. O'Malley

Would the hon. Gentleman agree that, under the present system of paying pensions, and even when pensioners receive their further increase six months in the future, the position is by no means satisfactory? I should have thought that that was accepted on both sides of the House. In the financial circumstances in which the Government find themselves this year, does not the hon. Gentleman consider that the Chancellor should, even now, give further help to pensioners by increasing the Exchequer supplement so that there could be a very substantial increase at a time when the Government could give it if they wanted to?

Mr. Dean

We all want to continue to improve the pensioner's financial position, and we shall continue to do so. But the fact of the matter is that since last September, and taking into account the new review that comes into operation in October, about an additional £1,000 million will be made available to pensioners and other beneficiaries, and they now have the absolute assurance that each autumn there will be an improvement in the rate of pension at least to take account of the rise in prices.