War Widows' Pensions (Hansard, 10 January 1996)

§ The Minister of State, Department of Social Security (Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish)
My Lords, the Pensions Act provided that a war widow's pension, which is withdrawn on remarriage, may be reclaimed on the subsequent termination of a marriage or on judicial separation. So far, 11,737 claim forms have been received and over 2,000 pensions have been put into payment.

§ Baroness Strange
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for his accurate Answer as far as it goes. Is he aware that although 2,036 ladies have started to receive pensions, and 80 to 100 have been turned down, there are about 8,000 ladies who have not heard one way or another and are still in limbo? Would he not agree that hope deferred makes the heart sick, that few of these ladies are very young, and that some may even be dead before they receive their pension?

§ Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish
My Lords, something like 4,000 widows or former widows have been notified that they will receive their pensions again. I am aware of the pressure on us to pay these pensions as quickly as we can, but we have to make some checks. 122 Obviously we have to check that the actual conditions of entitlement are correct and that the person who has applied is eligible for a war widow's pension. Having done that, we have to check whether there are any other payments from the Department of Social Security and, if so, balance those to make sure that when we pay out we are paying out the correct amount. I assure my noble friend that we are dealing with this matter as expeditiously as we can.

§ Baroness Nicol
My Lords, does the Minister recall that the reason so many Members of your Lordships' House supported the insertion of this clause in the Bill was that we were made aware that there were a number of cases of real hardship? Is it not insensitive, to say the least, that it is now taking so long to settle some of these claims? I understand that some of these ladies are in real difficulty. Is there no way that this matter can be speeded up?

§ Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish
My Lords, I think I explained that some checks have to be carried out when one receives an application form. Of course many of the records are over 50 years old and my department has to check them to determine whether the clams are genuine, justified and within the terms of the law. Thereafter there is the problem of balancing the claim with any other social security benefits that may be received. At Norcross in Blackpool we have taken on 48 staff who are totally dedicated to working on this issue. Indeed, shortly we shall be adding another 12 members of staff. We hope that all the pensions will he in payment by the end of this financial year; that is, the end of March.

§ Lord Craig of Radley
My Lords, is it not the case that war widows who have now had their pensions reinstated may nevertheless have some deductions made from other state pensions, particularly if their pensions have been enhanced by additional contributions from their second husbands? If that is the case, is it not dreadful that one is taking with one hand after giving with another?

§ Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish
My Lords, there is a general rule in social security that the taxpayer does not pay twice and that benefits are matched. If a war widow has a category A retirement pension, namely, one for which she has qualified on the basis of her own national insurance contributions, that is unaffected by the pension of £140 a week being restored to her. However, if she has a category B pension, which is based on her late husband's contributions, then that is taken into account, as is, for example, income support. That does not only affect war widows, it affects everybody who receives any benefit of any kind from the department.

§ Baroness Gardner of Parkes
My Lords, can the Minister provide me with information? I am told that a number of applications, perhaps 80 or 90, have been refused. When an application is rejected is the applicant told why? Is there any ground for appeal or is the matter closed once and for all?

§ Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish
My Lords, I understand that 78 applications have been rejected. I do not know on what grounds they were rejected. It is possible that the person applied thinking mistakenly that her first husband fell within the category caught by the 123 amendments to the Pensions Act. I shall certainly check that an explanation has been given to the 78 applicants and to any others who are refused.

§ Baroness O'Cathain
My Lords, would it be possible to increase the number of people dealing with the issue? My noble friend says that currently 48 people are looking at this issue and that an additional 12 will be employed. He also stated that it was hoped that all outstanding questions and pensions would be dealt with by the end of this financial year. Would it be possible to employ say another 30 people on this work so that we can hasten the process and give these people, some of whom as my noble friend Lady Strange said could be dead before they receive their pensions, some hope of receiving the money more quickly?

§ Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish
My Lords, as I said initially, we have 48 people working in this dedicated group and are adding another 12. However, the other work of the War Pensions Agency goes on. There are other war widows or pensioners who have disabilities resulting from the war who are applying for the first time. We have to ensure that that work goes on. We have to try and achieve a balance between getting on with this job and not damaging the ongoing work of dealing with new war widows or new war pensioners.

§ Lord Taylor of Blackburn
My Lords, is the Minister aware that there are quite a lot of unemployed people in the Blackpool area who would look forward to some temporary work helping out with this particular question?

§ Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish
My Lords, we have a number of temporary employees in the agency helping out on a number of issues. There is also the other aspect that the War Pensions Agency has to live within its administrative budget. That means that one cannot just go out and hire new people regardless of the effect on the administrative budget.