§ 2.39 p.m.
§ LORD OGMOREMy Lords, I beg leave to ask Her Majesty's Government the question of which I have given private notice—namely, whether they are now able to state the further progress made in the review of the ordinary widows' and dependants' pensions scheme of the Forces, which was promised by the Minister of Defence in the Statement he made in this House on November 19 last.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR AIR (LORD DE L'ISLE AND DUDLEY)My Lords, in reply to the noble Lord's Question, I am now able to announce the results of the review of awards to widows and children of officers and other ranks in the Services upon which, as my noble friend told the House on November 19, Her Majesty's Government have been engaged. The announcement relates to ordinary pensions and not to pensions paid to the dependants of those whose death was attributable to service. As the House knows, the basic rates and conditions of award have for the most part been unchanged for some 100 years, and therefore the position of these beneficiaries is radically different from that of other State pensioners. The criticisms which have been made by members of all Parties and by the public in general have been directed to three main points—namely, that the awards are inadequate; that proper awards are not made to widows and dependants of other ranks of very long service; and that the conditions of award are unfair and out of date.
989 The scheme which I am now announcing on behalf of Her Majesty's Government does what is possible to meet these points. First, as regards rates of award, these have been increased throughout. At present, for example, the basic rate of pension for the widow of a captain in the Army is £50 a year, or £90 a year if the widow is entitled to increases under the pensions increase schemes. In future the rate will be £110 per annum. For a lieutenant-colonel's widow, the present basic rate is £90 per annum, or £140 with pension increases. The future rate will be £180 per annum. For a lieutenant-general's widow the rate will be increased from £187 10s., or £252 including pension increases, to £350 per annum. The new rates will not qualify for increases under the existing Pensions (Increase) Acts.
As regards other ranks, the present scheme is restricted to the widows of warrant officers, Class I, in the Army and warrant officers in the R.A.F. In future, the widows and children of other ranks will be eligible, provided the men in question have completed certain specified periods of long service. For example, the widow of a warrant officer, Class II, with 22 years' service, will receive 12s. 6d. a week, rising to £1 a week for 37 years' service, and the widow of a sergeant of 27 years' service will receive 10s. a week, rising to 15s. a week for 37 years' service. The new rate of allowance for officers' children will be £32 a year, compared with the old rate of £16, which with pensions increase is now £22. For the children of long service other ranks covered by the scheme the rate will be 3s. 6d. a week and can be drawn in addition to family allowances.
These ordinary widows' and children's pensions are payable in addition to any entitlement under the National Insurance Acts. These improved rates will apply to all widows and dependants at present receiving benefits under the current scheme, regardless of the date of retirement of the husband. In the case of benefits arising from the extension of the scheme to other ranks of long service, payments will be made to the dependants of those who have served since August 31, 1950. The increased rates will in all cases be payable from December 1, 1952.
There is one further benefit of some importance which I should mention. In cases where a regular officer or other 990 rank who would have been entitled to a terminal grant under the 1950 scheme dies during his service, his widow—whether or not she is eligible for a pension—will be entitled to the gratuity which he would have received had he been invalided at the date of his death, though account will be taken of any postmortem allowances which she may have received. These gratuities will be paid to surviving widows in all eligible cases where death has occurred during service since 1st September, 1950.
I now turn to the conditions of award. The main changes are as follows. The means test will be abolished. The conditions that the officer must not be more than 25 years older than his wife and not over 60 at the time of marriage will also be abolished and, subject to certain safeguards, a wife who married a husband within a year of his death will also be eligible. Cases will also be admitted where an officer who marries after retirement is subsequently re-employed for certain minimum periods. Cases which have hitherto been excluded under all these restrictive rules will be reviewed. The present scheme is on the non-contributory principle which has obtained for the ordinary pensions scheme for the Services for over 100 years. When a widows' and dependants' scheme for the Civil Service was introduced in 1948 the Government of the day announced that it proposed to work out a similar scheme for the Services. Much consideration was given to such a scheme both by the late and by the present Government. A scheme was, in fact, prepared some two years ago and the opinion of a cross-section of all three Services in all ranks was taken upon it. But, in spite of the earnest consideration that had been given to it, the scheme proved unacceptable to the Services.
I hope the announcement of the Government's intentions will be generally welcomed in the House as evidence of the Government's desire to help those widows and children of men in the Forces who are still receiving pensions based on the rates fixed, in the main, a century ago. Furthermore, by thus improving the conditions of service of Regular officers and other ranks we shall help recruiting and encourage long-service engagements. Full details of the scheme will be issued in a White Paper 991 which will be available when Parliament meets after the Christmas Recess.
§ LORD OGMOREMy Lords, I am grateful to the noble and gallant Lord for making a long and comprehensive statement, and I am also grateful to the Government for having considered this matter so carefully. I am not yet quite clear exactly what the repercussions of this statement will be, and therefore I would ask the noble Lord whether at a later date, when the White Paper has been issued, we might have a debate on the subject, if it is felt necessary. So far as the means test is concerned, I think it is excellent that the Government should have abolished it. I feel that they have gone some way, although, as I say, I should not at this moment be prepared to commit myself as to whether they have gone all the way we should like, to meet the requirements of these widows and other dependants.
§ LORD DE L'ISLE AND DUDLEYMy Lords, I hope that the noble Lord will find himself in full agreement when he has had time to consider the matter. At any rate, the Government have gone a long way. With regard to the earlier part of the noble Lord's remarks, I agree that the scheme should be studied in detail, and I feel sure that it will be possible to arrange a debate through the usual channels when we meet again.
§ EARL JOWITTMy Lords, it is difficult to follow a long statement of figures without some document showing the figures. My noble friend had the only copy handed out to us. Did I understand that the figures which the noble and gallant Lord announced were increases, or were they actual pensions? I think I am right in saying, for instance, that the widow of a sergeant having thirty-seven years' service will receive a pension of 15s. Does that mean that that is all the pension she will receive, or does it mean that this proposal is to add 15s. to her existing pension? I am sorry not to understand it, but the noble and gallant Lord will appreciate that it is impossible to follow a mass of figures without having them in a document before you.
§ LORD DE L'ISLE AND DUDLEYMy Lords, in the normal course it would have 992 been preferable to issue a White Paper at the time of the statement, but in deference to the wishes of noble Lords in all parts of the House, and in accordance with the undertaking given by my noble and gallant friend Lord Alexander, we thought it better to give the House a resumé of our proposals before we went away for Christmas. In answer to the second part of the noble and learned Earl's question, I should like to emphasise that this is an entirely new scheme for other ranks. Hitherto, apart from warrant officers in the Royal Air Force and warrant officers. Class I, in the Army, there has been no scheme for pensions for widows of other ranks. This is the first time that any Government has instituted a scheme giving pensions to widows of long-service other ranks. The figures I read out were the rates of pension which have now been instituted for the first time for those other ranks.
§ LORD OGMOREMy Lords, as the noble and gallant Lord knows, through his courtesy I received a copy of his statement a minute or two before the House sat, but it is difficult to study it in so short a time. I should like to ask him one question, which he may be able to clear up, as the matter is a little ambiguous. Is the rate of £180, the new rate given to the widow of a lieutenant-colonel, to be given in addition to the pension increases which were part of the original pension? Can the noble Lord answer that question?
§ LORD DE L'ISLE AND DUDLEYMay I repeat the words of the statement? I think it is clear. For a lieutenant-colonel's widow the present basic rate is £90 per annum or £140 with pensions increases, where they are applicable. The new rate will be £180, which is the rate apart from any children's pensions which may accrue to the widow.
§ LORD OGMOREIn other words, it is an increase of £40 in her case, and in the case of a widow of a captain the increase would be £20—that is, from £90 to £110. I just want to know if we have the actual increase.
§ LORD DE L'ISLE AND DUDLEYIn the case of a captain's widow the increase from the present rate where increases are applicable—and I understand they are not applicable in every case, the basic rate being £50—is from £90 to £110 for a 993 captain's wife; and for a lieutenant-colonel's widow, as the noble Lord said, from £140 to £180.
LORD SALTOUNAs I had the honour of being associated with the noble Lord, Lord Ogmore, in consultations which have taken place in this matter, I should like to thank the Government for a great step forward.
§ LORD MILNER OF LEEDSWhen the noble and gallant Lord publishes particulars, will he give details of pensions applicable in the case of death on active service? Presumably the rates he enumerated are those for service pensions as distinct from those pensions attributable to disability or death on active service. It would be helpful to be able to compare the two.
§ LORD DE L'ISLE AND DUDLEYMy Lords, I will certainly bring the noble Lord's comment to the appropriate quarter. I would remind the noble Lord, and the House, that we are dealing here not with attributable pensions, which are a separate question, but with questions of pensions awarded to the widows of officers and other ranks who die in the ordinary way, their pensions being earned by their long service.
§ LORD MILNER OF LEEDSI think it is wholly inadequate.