SOCIAL SECURITY (MARRIED WOMEN AND WIDOWS) (Hansard, 26 November 1974)

§ The Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security (Mr. Alfred Morris)
I beg to move. That the Social Security (Benefit) (Married Women and Widows Special Provisions) Regulations 1974, a draft of which was laid before this House on 6th November, be approved. These regulations carry forward similar existing provisions which are beneficial and, as I hope the House will agree, non-controversial.
The regulations are to replace, from 6th April 1975, when Part I of the Social Security Act 1973 comes into operation, similar provisions relating to benefit matters which are at present contained in the 395 National Insurance (Married Women) Regulations 1973 which were made under the provisions of the National Insurance Act 1965.
The existing regulations also include provisions relating to contributions, but those contribution provisions are dealt with in separate regulations under the 1973 Act. These are the Social Security (Contributions) (Married Women and Widows Special Provision) Regulations 1973 which are currently being amended.
These benefit regulations concern the special provisions which are made to enable married women and women whose marriages have been terminated, either by the death of their husbands or by divorce, to qualify for benefit under the Act. Their main purpose is to enable women whose marriages have ended to requalify for short-term benefits more quickly than they would otherwise be able to do by paying contributions in the normal way, and to assist them more easily to qualify for retirement pension. The need for these provisions arises because many of the women concerned will not have been paying full-rate contributions whilst married and, when receiving widow's benefit, will be able to choose whether or not to pay full-rate contributions.
Under the terms of the 1973 Act, the regulations are being made without reference to the National Insurance Advisory Committee.
Although not coming into force until 6th April 1975, these regulations are required to be made by 6th December 1974 to enable claims for retirement pension in respect of persons who reach pensionable age on or after 6th April 1975, which can be made up to four months in advance, to be determined.
Before I turn to the provisions of the individual regulations it may assist the House if I explain that, in order to qualify for most benefits under the Act, it is necessary to satisfy two contribution conditions. The first requires a certain level of contributions to have actually been paid in any income tax year. The second requires a certain level of contributions to have been paid or credited in a relevant year or years. In the case of short-term benefits, such as sickness benefit and unemployment benefit, the 396 relevant year is the income tax year preceding the benefit year, and in the case of long-term benefits, such as retirement pensions, widowed mother's allowance and widow's pension, the condition has to be satisfied in some nine-tenths of the income tax years in the contributor's working life.
I turn now to the regulations. Regulation 1 is formal. Regulation 2 assists widows and divorced women who are in employment to qualify more quickly for unemployment and sickness benefit and maternity allowance after the end of their marriage by crediting them with contributions to enable them to satisfy the second contribution condition for those benefits. Without this regulation, it could take up to two years after the end of their marriage for them to re-qualify for these benefits by paying contributions.
Regulation 3 assists widows when their widow's allowance or widowed mother's allowance has ceased. They are assisted to qualify for unemployment and sickness benefit, maternity allowance and retirement pension on their own contributions by having the first contribution condition for those benefits deemed to be satisfied and by being enabled to satisfy the second contribution conditions for the short-term benefits for a limited period. The widows are also given entitlement to unemployment benefit for a full 312 days. The regulation makes similar provision for widows under 60 of certain recipients of old person's pensions and for war and industrial widows.
Regulation 4 and the schedule to the regulations extend to divorced women various rights, already provided for widows under the Social Security Act, in that they are allowed to use their former husbands' contributions as their own to enable them to satisfy the second contribution condition for retirement pension.
Regulation 5 enables the contribution record of a divorced woman's former husband to be used, if necessary, to satisfy the condition for death grant on her death.
Regulation 6 provides for class 3 contributions to be credited to widows for an initial period following the death of their husbands and thereafter, if they are awarded the appropriate widow's benefit. The main purpose of this regulation is to assist them, when they reach 397 age 60, to satisfy the second contribution condition for retirement pension.
Regulation 7 enables a widow receiving widow's benefit when she reaches age 60 to be deemed to satisfy the first contribution condition for retirement pension.
Regulation 8 applies to married women claiming unemployment benefit and requires that due regard shall be paid to their domestic responsibilities as married women in considering whether they should be disqualified from benefit on the grounds that they left their employment voluntarily without good cause or lost it through misconduct or refused to accept suitable employment or training.
Regulation 9 enables widows to receive widowed mother's allowance, widow's pension or retirement pension, and divorced women to receive retirement pension, at reduced rates where the second contribution condition for those benefits is not fully satisfied. Any increase for a child is, however, to be paid at the standard rate. The regulation sets out how the reduced percentage of standard rate pension is to be calculated and provides that no pension shall be paid if that percentage is less than 25. This broadly follows the existing provisions for reduced rate pensions in these circumstances.
Regulation 10 provides, for the purposes of these regulations, for a woman whose voidable marriage has been annulled to be treated as a divorced woman, and for a woman whose husband has been presumed dead to be treated as divorced unless the date of death has been established to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State or the independent determining authorities, in which case the woman is treated as widowed.
Regulation 11 applies to divorced women whose husbands were insured under the National Insurance Act 1965 and earlier Acts and makes similar provisions as are made for widows in other regulations—(the Widow's Benefit, Retirement Pension and Other Benefits (Transitional) Regulations 1974). It amends the schedule to those regulations so that the former husband's contributions under those Acts can be taken into account.
398 The schedule sets out alternative methods of making use of a former husband's contributions for the purposes of Regulation 4.
These regulations give entitlement to benefit to people who would not otherwise have entitlement, and I have pleasure in commending them to the House.

§ Mr. Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe)
I am grateful to the Minister for having read his explanation of these involved regulations. My hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow) has reminded me that it was the practice under the Conservative Government for regulations like this to be moved formally and then for the Opposition to put questions and comments on them, with the Minister replying in some detail. I think that that practice would have suited this occasion.
I wish to put two straightforward points arising out of the regulations, which are welcome and necessary ways of enabling a divorced woman or widow to rely on the husband's contribution record for most purposes. We do not stand in the way of these desirable objectives.
Regulation 6 gives a widow the right to be credited with contributions for a certain period after the death of her husband. One assumes that this is in order to give her time to get over the shock of bereavement. It will credit her with contributions for a reasonable time while she arranges to get employment if she has to keep herself and her national insurance record to retirement.
Will the hon. Gentleman consider making similar provision for a divorced woman to be credited with class 3 contributions for a short period ofter the dissolution of the marriage? In some cases the divorce comes as no sudden shock but in other cases, on dissolution, a middle-aged housewife who has not been employed for many years suddenly finds herself called upon to get back to employment and find a way of keeping herself if the maintenance from her ex-husband is inadequate. Are the Government considering introducing regulations, comparable to the provisions in Regulation 6, which might give some assistance to such women?
399 We are familiar with these matters from dealing with constituency cases, so my next point concerns whether the hon. Gentleman has considered giving access by a wife to her husband's contribution record so that she knows her position. I am thinking particularly of a wife living apart from her husband when divorce is pending. She may have no real idea of how he has been keeping in work and whether he has maintained the proper national insurance contribution record on which she may be able to rely once the marriage is dissolved.
This also applies to legally separated women, although I recognise that it is difficult to do anything for them, because often a separated woman has no idea whether she would be better off divorced, since she has no idea where her husband is or whether he is keeping in work or is maintaining the national insurance contribution record which will help her eventually.
What views have the Department on giving a separated wife or a woman who is contemplating divorce access to or information about her husband's contribution record, so that she can know at an early stage whether the attempts which are made to assist her in these regulations will be of use once the divorce is finalised and she finds herself making provision for her own retirement?

§ Mr. Alfred Morris
I am grateful to the hon. Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke). His points are important. We shall carefully consider everything he has said and we shall be in touch with him to let him have definitive answers to all his points.
I agree that these are involved regulations. I noted the point which the hon. Member said had been put to him by his hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow), but there is no question of our seeking any procedural change which would disturb the balance of information between the two sides of the House.
These regulations carry forward similar existing provisions which are beneficial. The problems of those affected are of deep concern to us all. I shall contact the hon. Member on what he has said about Regulation 6 and access to a husband's contribution record. I am grateful to him for the kindly way in which he has received the regulations.