§ Mr. GRANTasked the Prime Minister whether pensions now being paid to ex-Civil servants, who have retired since bonuses, on account of abnormal conditions arising from the War, were added to their pre-war remuneration, are based on their pre-war remuneration plus war bonuses; whether the increased war bonuses which have been quite recently awarded by the Civil Service Arbitration Board are to form part of the basis of pensions to Civil servants on their retire- 1452W ment; and whether he will reconsider the case of older ex-Civil servants whose pensions are based on pre-war remuneration, without the addition of war bonuses, and submit it for corresponding arbitration?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINThe existing arrangement with regard to the reckoning, within certain limits, of war bonus for pension was fully stated in my reply of the 16th April last to the hon. Member for the Devonport Division, of which I will send my hon. Friend a copy. The recent increase in war bonus does not affect that arrangement. As regards pensioners who were not in receipt of war bonus at the time of their retirement, I am not prepared to depart from my previous decision, which was reached after very full consideration.