§ 2. Mr. McQuarrieie asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons are in receipt of widows pensions; and how many widows under 40 years of age had the pension withdrawn after the period laid down by law in 1979, 1980 and 1981, respectively.
§ The Minister for Social Security (Mr. Hugh Rossi)About 422,000 women were receiving either a widow's pension or a widowed mother's allowance in June 1981—the latest date for which information is available. It is estimated that there are fewer than 1,500 widows annually who are widowed before 40 who initially receive a widow's allowance for 26 weeks, but do not qualify thereafter for either a widow's pension or widowed mother's allowance.
§ Mr. McQuarrieI thank my hon. Friend for that reply, but will he tell the House whether there is any possibility of the Government amending existing legislation to give a permanent pension to widows under 40? Are the Government also considering taking other widows out of the tax liability structure if they are forced to take up employment which then puts on them penalties that are entirely against the intended ethics of the widow's pension.
§ Mr. RossiI regret that I must disappoint my hon. Friend. Even the cost of moving the age limit for full widow's pensions to 40 would be about£40 million a year. We are unable to estimate the higher cost involved in removing all the age limits for widows' pensions. We do not consider it justified use of resources to treat younger widows without children on a different basis from other single women. However, they can be given an accelerated 843 start into short-term sickness or unemployment benefit if, at the end of the period of receipt of a widow's allowance, they experience difficulty in finding a suitable job.
Taxation of earnings is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.