§ 12. Mr. Canavanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the current purchasing power of the retirement pension, compared with March 1974.
§ Mr. O'MalleyOn the basis of the movement in the General Index of Retail Prices between March 1974 and December 1975 the purchasing power of the retirement pension is currently about 20 per cent. higher than in March 1974.
§ Mr. CanavanI recognise the very laudable achievements of the Government in raising the retirement pension by some 70 per cent. since Labour took office. However, is it not a fact, bearing in mind what the Minister has just said, that much of that increase has been eroded by increased prices for essentials such as food and fuel? Does my right hon. Friend accept that we have still a long way to go to achieve adequate standards of social justice for our senior citizens? Will he begin by giving serious consideration to the efforts of Jack Jones and others in the Labour movement and the trade union movement to get pensions increased by this spring to a level of £18.50 for a single person and £28 for a married couple?
§ Mr. O'MalleyMy hon. Friend is wrong to assume that the value of the pension has been significantly eroded. As a result of the November uprating, the real value of the pension was higher 237 than its value when we increased it significantly to £10 in July 1974. That was a far greater increase than anything which had been achieved by the previous Conservative Administration.
My hon. Friend is right and the whole of the Labour movement is right in believing in and implementing better pensions. That is precisely what our new long-term pension scheme will achieve. It will mean an end to the massive dependence on means testing in old age, which is a characteristic of the present system.
As regards future upratings, my hon. Friend will recognise that the last uprating took place in November. The record of this Administration demonstrates that we have introduced upratings within as brief a period as has been necessary. We shall do everything in future to protect the pensioner against the erosion of the pension by inflation.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeDoes the right hon. Gentleman accept that we have waited a long time for the announcement of the operative date of uprating? Will the right hon. Gentleman concede that while we have been waiting for the announcement of the uprating to protect pensions against the effects of inflation—namely, since March 1975—we have seen the highest rate of inflation that has taken place even under this Government? Is the delay due to the fact that the buoyant revenues from earnings-related national insurance contributions are being entirely consumed by the present disgraceful level of unemployment?
§ Mr. O'MalleyI shall take representations for better pensions from my hon. Friends, but not from Opposition Front Bench spokesmen. The record of the Opposition on the subject of pensions is absolutely appalling. The figures demonstrate that. For example, when their upratings occurred in October 1972 and 1973, their real value was respectively £8.42 and £8.80. The present Administration, in the face of considerable economic and financial difficulties, has raised the real value to £10. We have increased and improved pensions since coming into office.