§ Mr. BILLINGasked the Home Secretary what pension a police constable of 20 years' good conduct service retiring on 31st December, 1914, is entitled to draw to-day; and what pension a police constable of 20 years' good conduct service retiring on 31st December, 1919, is entitled to draw to-day?
§ Mr. SHORTTIn each case the amount of the pension depends (i) on the pay the police constable was drawing prior to retirement; (ii) the pension scale adopted by the police authority under the Act of 1890; and (iii) the nature and cause of the disability which led to retirement. Further, when a police constable retires as the result of injury on duty with less than 25 years' service, the Act leaves the police authority a discretion as to the amount of the pension within the limits laid down in the first schedule to the Act.
§ Mr. BILLINGasked the Home Secretary if he is aware that the police authorities, in order to evade paying the increased pensions and allowances to those men whose terms of service were almost expired, compulsorily retired such men without the regulation one month's notice; whether he is aware that some men of nearly 30 years' good-conduct 551W service were so retired; and what action, if any, he proposes to take in the matter?
§ Mr. SHORTTI am not aware of any such action on the part of any police authorities.
§ Mr. RAMSDENasked the Home Secretary whether he intends to revise the pensions of those police officers who, not knowing the revised scale of payment to the police granted last year, retired on the old scale, and in many cases a few weeks before the new scheme was adopted, are now suffering hardship?
§ Mr. SHORTTI would refer the hon. Member to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's speech in the debate of last Friday. I regret that these pensions cannot be increased.