POLICE PENSIONS (AMENDMENT) (No. 2) REGULATIONS, 1963 (Hansard, 4 April 1963)

§ THE MARQUESS OF LOTHIAN

My Lords, I beg to move that the Police Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1963, a draft of which was laid before this House on March 19, be approved. These Regulations are entirely consequential upon the passing of the National Insurance Act, 1963, and I shall therefore not detain the House long in introducing them. The object of these draft Regulations is simply to increase 663 certain widows' and children's benefits payable under Police Pensions Regulations by amounts corresponding to the increases in National Insurance benefits made by the National Insurance Act, 1963.

The police were excluded from the contributory old-age pensions scheme which was in existence before National Insurance schemes were introduced in 1948, and about 8,000 police widows and children are not now entitled to benefits provided under the National Insurance Scheme: police authorities are, therefore, given discretion to pay corresponding benefits under the Police Pensions Regulations. In effect, a miniature National Insurance Scheme is operated under the Police pension code. To take only one example, a widow can, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 1963, be awarded 67s. 6d. instead of 57s. 6d. a week. The Police Councils for England and Wales and for Scotland have been consulted and are in agreement with the proposal that these changes should be made. The Regulations provide that they should come into operation on May 27, 1963, at the same time as the increases in the National Insurance benefits.