House of Commons Members' Fund (Hansard, 20 March 1987)

§ 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 I of the said Act of 1981 shall be varied as from 1st April 1987 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 o any person by virtue of his past membership of the House of Commons shall not exceed £2,451 or such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring his income up to £4,512 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 £4,728 or such sum as, in their opinion, will bring his income up to £6,789 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 £1,227 or such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring her income up to £3,288 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 £2,361 or such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring her income up to £4,422 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 following words: 'the annual amount of any periodical payment made to any such widower shall not exceed £1,227 or such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring his income up to £3,288 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 £2,361 or such sums as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring his income up to £4,422 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 following words: 'the annual rate of any payments made under secton 1 shall be—
(a) £1,428 if the payments are made to a past Member; and

(b) £714 if the payments are made to the widow or widower of a past Member'.
The motion stands in my name and those of right hon. and hon. Members, on both sides of the House, who share with me the responsibility, as trustees, of administering the House of Commons Members' Fund. The purpose of the resolution is to provide for an increase in the present levels of grants and payments which may be made under the Members' Fund legislation. 'These were last revised in December 1985, and the proposal we are making now is 1211 that they should be increased from 1 April 1987 by approximately 4 per cent. in line with the increases approved for public service and state retirement pensions in July 1986 and in April this year.
Unlike those of us who now enjoy superannuation benefits as of right, former colleagues who left the House before 1964, and their widows and widowers, have no pension entitlement. Many of them are living in considerably reduced and straitened circumstances, more especially former Members and their dependants who are now of advanced years, but the help that my fellow trustees and I are able to provide from the Members fund is, as the House knows, extremely modest.
A particular problem is that the whereabouts of our former colleagues or their widows or widowers is not always known to us. Thus, I should be most grateful if right hon. and hon. Members could get in touch with me, should they know of any former Members or their dependants who are in need of our help.
I need not detain the House at any length today, as the provisions for which we seek approval are set out in detail in the resolution on the Order Paper. These may be briefly summarised as follows: sub-paragraph 1(a) deals with the provision for grants to ex-Members. Here, it is proposed to increase the basic annual grant to £2,451, subject to an income limit, including the grant, of £4,512. In the case of ex-Members with longer service who are in need, the grant may be increased to a maximum of £4,728, subject to an income limit of £6,789.
Sub-paragraphs 1(b) and 1(c) deal with the provision of grants to widows and widowers of ex-Members. It is proposed to increase the basic annual grant to £1,227, subject to an income limit, including the grant, of £3,288. Similarly, in the case of widows or widowers of ex-Members who had longer service and where there is need, the grant may be increased to a maximum of £2,361, subject to an income limit of £4,422.
Sub-paragraph 1(d) refers to the "as-of-right payments" from the Members fund to ex-Members who had 1212 10 years' service before October 1964, and to widows and widowers of such Members, provided for by the House of Commons Members' Fund and Parliamentary Pensions Act 1981. It is proposed to increase those annual payments to £1,428 in the case of ex-Members, and to £714 in the case of widows or widowers.

§ Mr. Albert McQuarrie (Banff and Buchan)
Can the right hon. Gentleman tell the House how many former Members of the House and widows receive discretionary grants? Can the right hon. Gentleman also advise the House how many recipients there are of the "as-of-right payments" under the 1981 Act?

§ Mr. Morris
The number of recipients of discretionary grants under the House of Commons Members' Fund Act 1939, as amended, are: ex-Members, five, widows, eight, and there are eight hardship cases under section 4 of the 1948 Act, giving a total of 21. In the case of the 1981 Act, the number of recipients of "as-of-right payments", at present, are: ex-Members 51 and widows 34, giving a total of 85. The additional annual cost of the increase that we propose is estimated to amount to £5,300. I commend the resolution to the House.