House of Commons Members' Fund (Hansard, 23 April 1993)

§ Mr. Alfred Morris (Manchester, Wythenshawe)
I beg to move, That, in pursance 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 April 1993, 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 £3,491 or such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring his income up to £6,419 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 £6,721 or such sum as, in their opinion, will bring his income up to £9,649 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 £2,182 or such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring her income up to £5,110 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 £4,201 or such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring her income up to £7,129 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 £2,182 or such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring his income up to £5,110 per annum, whichever is the less:

Provided that if, having regard to his wife's length of service or to his need, the Trustees think fit, they may make a larger payment not exceeding £4,201 or such sum as, in the opinion of the Trustees, will bring his income up to £7,129 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) £2,033 if the payments are made to a past Member; and

(b) £1,271 if the payments are made to the widow or widower of a past Member.'.

The motions on the Order Paper are in the names of right hon. and hon. Members on both sides of the Chamber who share with me the responsibility, as Managing Trustees, of administering the House of Commons Members' Fund.
There are two motions to consider. The first provides for an increase in the present levels of all grants and payments which may be made under the Members' Fund 697 legislation. These were last revised in April 1992 by approval of the motions I brought to the House in July 1992. We now propose to increase the grants and payments with effect from 1 April 1993 by ..6 per cent. which is in line with the increases approved for public service and state retirement pensions which took effect recently.
The main beneficiaries of the first motion are elderly former Members or their surviving spouses, the majority of whom, unlike present Members of the House, have no entitlement to benefit under the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund. Many of them are now over 80 years of age and some are in their 90s. Last year, the trustees were able, with the approval of the House, to increase the awards payable to surviving spouses from one half to five-eighths of the principal award payable to the former Member.
The provisions for which we seek approval can be briefly summarised. Sub-paragraph (a) deals with the provisions for grants to ex-Members who served in the House for 10 years and whose income is below prescribed limits. It is proposed to increase the basic annual grant to £3,491, subject to an income limit, including the grant, of £6,419. In the case of ex-Members with longer service, the grant may be increased to a maximum of £6,721, subject to an income limit of £9,649 per annum. The widows and widowers of these ex-Members are covered by subparagraphs (b) and (c) of the motion. It is proposed to increase their basic annual grant to £2,182, subject to an income limit, including the grant, of £5,110. Similarly, in the case of widows and widowers of ex-Members who had longer service, the grant may be increased to a maximum of £4,201, subject to an income limit of £7,129 per annum.
Sub-paragraph (d) refers to the "as of right" payments from the Members' fund to ex-Members who had 10 years' service before October 1964, and to their widows and widowers; their awards are not subject to any income limits. We propose to increase these annual payments to £2,033 for ex-Members and £1,271 for widows and widowers.
Under the terms of the governing legislation, the House of Commons may by resolution direct that, in any year. the whole or any part of the amount contributed by Members from their salaries shall be appropriated, together with the whole or any part of the Treasury contribution, currently £215,000, for the purpose of providing funds for the Trustees to make discretionary awards to ex-Members and their dependants, having regard to their individual circumstances. The second motion gives effect to this appropriation and will enable the Trustees to continue some 141 discretionary awards to ex-Members and their dependants.
I am most appreciative of the help of right hon. and hon. Members who have brought to the attention of the Managing Trustees information on the needs of the former Members and their dependants over the past year. I hope very much that we shall continue to receive this useful assistance from our parliamentary colleagues in tracing former Members or their surviving dependants who may require help from the fund. As I have said in previous years, Members are likely to find considerable help from members of their constituency parties or associations who have long memories and have kept in contact with the 698 families of those who formerly served the constituency. The cause is worth while and the help we receive is invaluable to the Trustees in making best use of the resources available to us.
I commend the motions to the House and am sure that they will have the support of all right hon. and hon. Members. In doing so, I want again most warmly to thank—

§ Mr. Alan Williams (Swansea, West)
I do not want to interrupt the thanks with which we all wish to associate ourselves, but does my right hon. Friend recollect that he expressed the view that it would be wrong if the dependants of deceased Members suffered loss of lump sums or benefits as a result of the freezing of Members' salaries? It was suggested by the Leader of the House that the fund of which my right hon. Friend is chair should step in and close that gap. My right hon. Friend pointed out that the gap was the problem because no one knew what it was. He has asked the Leader of the House whether he could tell him what the notional salary would be, so that he could consider whether he could close the gap between the actual and the notional in benefit terms. Has the Leader of the House of Commons given my right hon. Friend the information that he requires?

§ Mr. Morris
My right hon. Friend has raised an important point. When I spoke in the debate on the freezing of Members' salaries, I did so, as Chairman of the Managing Trustees of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund, to express my concern about its possible life-long effect for dependants of any Member who might die during the period of the freeze. I was then speaking hypothetically, but now, as my right hon. Friend knows, very sadly we have an actual case following the untimely death of our respected former colleague Judith Chaplin.
It may help my right hon. Friend to know that I have written to the Leader of the House about the action open to the Managing Trustees of the Members' Fund. Of course, before we can use the fund to meet the shortfall in that case, we need to know what the parliamentary salary would now be if the freeze had not been imposed. I have asked the Leader of the House for that information and am awaiting his reply so that the Managing Trustees of the Members' Fund can act as quickly and helpfully as possible.
I want again most warmly to thank Tony Lewis, Michael Fletcher, David Allen, and their colleagues in the Fees Office, for their unfailing care in assisting beneficiaries of the fund. I hear very often how deeply their work is appreciated by the needful people whom the fund exists to help and, as Chairman of the Managing Trustees, I witness the commitment and concern they devote, far beyond the calls of duty, in service to our former colleagues, their widows and other dependants. They deserve the gratitude of this House as a whole.