§ Sir K. WOODasked the Secretary of State for War whether the Committee set up to consider the subject of a contributory pension scheme for the Royal Ordnance factories is still sitting; when their final Report might be anticipated; and whether the terms of reference to such committee have in any way been varied since the same was announced in the House?
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSONThe Committee is no longer sitting. As stated in the reply by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions to my hon. Friend on 5th March last, the Committee in their Interim Report indicated that no acceptable scheme that did not involve additional charge to public funds could be formulated; and in view of this it appeared that no useful purpose would be served by further deliberations by the Committee. The reply to the last part of the question is in the negative; but the Committee were asked at an early stage of their deliberations to make their recommendations on the basis that any scheme framed would be self-supporting.