House of Commons Members' Fund (Hansard, 16 December 1985)

§ Mr. Alfred Morris (Manchester, Wythenshawe)

I beg to move, That in pursuance of the provisions of section 3 of the House of Commons Members' Fund Act 1948 and of section 2 of the House of Commons Members' Fund and Parliamentary Pensions Act 1981 the maximum annual amounts of the periodical payments which may be made out of the House of Commons Members' Fund under the House of Commons Members' Fund Act 1939, as amended, and the annual rate of any payments made under section 1 of the said Act of 1981 shall be varied as from 1st December 1985 as follows: (a) for paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the said Act of 1939, as amended, there shall be substituted the following paragraph: 1. The annual amount of any periodical payment made to any person by virtue of his past membership of the House of Commons shall not exceed £2,355 of such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring his income up to £4,353 per annum whichever is the less: Provided that if, having regard to length of service and need, the Trustees think fit, they may make a larger payment not exceeding £4,545 or such sum as, in their opinion, will bring his income up to £6,543 per annum, whichever is the less: (b) for paragraph 2 of that Schedule there shall be substituted the following paragraph: 2. The annual amount of any periodical payment to any person by virtue of her being a widow of a past Member of the House of Commons shall not exceed £1,179 or such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring her income up to £3,177 per annum, whichever is the less: Provided that if, having regard to her husband's length of service or to her need, the Trustees think fit, they may make a larger payment not exceeding £2,268 or such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring her income up to £4,266 per annum, whichever is the less: (c) in paragraph 2A of that Schedule for the words 'the annual amount of any periodical payment' to the end of the paragraph, there shall be substituted the words: 'the annual amount of any periodical payment made to any such widower shall not exceed £1,179 or such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring his income up to £3,177 per annum, whichever is the less: Provided that if, having regard to his wife's length of service or to his needs the Trustees think fit, they may make a larger payment not exceeding £2,268 or such sum, as in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring his income up to £4,266 per annum, whichever is the less: (d) in section 2(1) of the said Act of 1981, for the words from the beginning to the end of paragraph (b) there shall be substituted the words: 'the annual rate of any payments made under section 1 shall be— (a) £1,372 if the payments are made to a past Member; and (b) £686 if the payments are made to the widow or widower of a past Member'. The motion is in the names of right hon. and hon. Members on both sides of the House who share with me the responsibility, as trustees, of administering the fund.

The purpose of the motion is to provide for and to increase the present levels of grants and payments which may be made under the Members' fund legislation, in line with the recent increases approved for public service and national insurance retirement pensions.

Members of this House now enjoy pension rights under the parliamentary contributory pension fund, but this has not always been so. Former colleagues who left the House before 1964 have no pension whatever from the House. 129 Many of them live in considerably reduced, and indeed straitened circumstances, not least those who are now of advanced years and, even more so, the widows or widowers of former Members. The Members' fund has existed since 1939 to provide assistance where necessary to former Members and their dependants, but the help that my fellow trustees and I are empowered to give from the fund is extremely modest.

§ Mr. Morris

The present annual rate is £138,000.

The trustees are deeply conscious of the need for more help from the fund and are urgently considering what steps might be taken to achieve improvement.

A further problem is that the needs of former colleagues or their widows or widowers are not always known to us, which is why on occasions like this some attention to the fund's work is important. I shall be most grateful if right hon. and hon. Members will get in touch with me if they become aware of any former Members or their dependants who are in need of help that the fund can provide.

I need not detain the House for long, as the provisions for which I and my fellow trustees seek approval are set out in detail in the motion. In paragraph 1(a) we set out the new provisions for grants to ex-hon. Members. At present the trustees are authorised to make grants to ex-Members of up to £2,199, provided that the total income of the applicant, including the grant, does not exceed £4,067. By this motion the grant is raised to £2,355 and the income limit to £4,353. To this is added a provision by which the trustees will be authorised to make larger payments, having due regard to length of service and need, of a grant of up to £4,545, provided that the income of the applicant, together with the grant, does not exceed £6,543.

Grants to widows are set out under subparagraph (b). At present the grant to an ex-Member's widow is £1,101, provided that her income, with the grant, does not exceed £2,969. This grant is raised to £1,179, and the income limit raised to £3,177. There follows the provision by which, having regard to her husband's length of service, or to need, the trustees will be enabled to make grants of up to £2,268, provided that the widow's income, with the grant, does not exceed £4,266.

Grants to widowers are set out in subparagraph (c), and the provisions there are similar to those for widows in subparagraph (b).

Subparagraph (d) refers to the "as of right" payments from the Members' fund to former Members who had 10 years of service before October 1964, and to widows and widowers of such Members, provided for by the House of Commons Members' fund, and the Parliamentary Pensions Act 1981, which came into force on 19 March 1981. We now seek to increase the payments, at present at the rate of £1,282 per annum, to former Members to £1,372 per annum, and the payments to widows or widowers from £641 per annum to £686 per annum.

These new provisions will all be effective from 1 December 1985. They provide for increases of approximately 7 per cent. across the board, in line with the provisions in the Pensions Increase (Review) Order 1985, and the additional expenditure arising from the motion will be £9,800.

130 I hope that the motion will receive the unanimous support of the House, for I can assure right hon. and hon. Members that the experience of the trustees has made us realise how urgently this further provision is needed and how very much it will be welcomed by the fund's beneficiaries.

Finally, I wish to thank most warmly Mr. J. L. G.Dobson, the Accountant, and his colleagues in the Fees Office, both for their constant help to the trustees and for their ever humane concern for the wellbeing of those whom we serve.