§ Mr. LORT-WILLIAMSasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether it has been decided to increase the pensions of Civil servants retired since 1915 by 20 percent.; whether it is proposed to grant the same increase to those retired before that date, and, if not, why the present high cost of living is considered to weigh more heavily upon the former than upon the latter; and whether, seeing that some Civil servants to-day are trying to live on a pension of £l Is. 2d. per week after twenty-seven years' service, he will take steps to rectify this?
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§ Mr. BALDWINI would refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the 16th April last in reply to the hon. Member for Plymouth, which gives full details of the arrangement referred to. The principle of the arrangement is that within certain limits war bonus shall reckon for pensions, and, as previously explained, it is not intended to extend it to those who were not in receipt of war bonus at the time of their retirement.