HL Deb 21 July 1955 vol 193 cc950-2

2.10 p.m.

LORD JEFFREYS

My Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action it is now proposed to take regarding the retired pay of those officers who retired under the terms of the 1919 Code, in view of the Government's undertaking to "continue to keep under review with sympathy and understanding the needs of these officers".]

THE EARL OF SELKIRK

My Lords, the noble Lord has no doubt read the answer which my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave to a similar question last week. I am afraid it is not possible for me to add anything further to what he said on that occasion. The noble Lord will, I am sure, have noticed that that answer was not wholly negative.

LORD JEFFREYS

My Lords, may I ask whether the Government are aware that the officers affected are dying at an appreciable rate, and that there was a question asked of, and answered by, the Minister of Defence on an earlier occasion this year, when he said that the cost of granting a 20 per cent. increase on the rate of retired pay of 1919 would be a little under £1 million a year, but that this would diminish annually by some £80,000? Are we really to believe that the Government cannot afford such a small sum in order to do justice to these officers to whom they are contractually bound?

THE EARL OF SELKIRK

My Lords, whilst not accepting entirely all that the noble Lord has said, I would assure him that my right honourable friend does not in any way underestimate the importance of this subject. I think I can say that past experience has shown that when he says that he is keeping a subject under review, that is not just an idle formula.

LORD HADEN-GUEST

My Lords, is it not the case that this reply, that the matter is being kept under review, has been given more than once in the past and that no material advantage, with the exception of perhaps to-day's and last week's announcements, has been given to those officers? It is also the fact that in the last few days there has been an announcement that the cost of living index has gone up since 1947 by something like 50 per cent. Cannot this matter be treated in a more humane and common-sense manner, by giving a chance to men of this vintage who did great work to have a reasonable standard of life in their declining years?

THE EARL OF SELKIRK

My Lords, I can assure the noble Lord that what he has said will certainly be examined closely by my right honourable friend. I think it is fair to remember that in the last three years there have been three separate measures which, in one way or another, have assisted in this matter. What the noble Lord said in regard to the cost of living is, of course, known to everyone, and it is one of the factors which undoubtedly will be borne in mind.