§ Mr. CLOUGHasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the agitation in favour of the abolition of the means limit of old age pensions; how much State outlay would be incurred approximately by the grant of old age pensions at the present rate to all irrespective of financial position; and how much saving would be effected by the abandonment of all the existing machinery for the examination of the means of applicants?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINThe total annual expenditure that would be involved if there were no means limit was estimated at £41,000,000 by the Departmental Committee on Old Age Pensions which reported in 1919, as will be seen in Table 6 appended to their Report (Cd. 410–1919). No precise estimate is available of the savings in cost of administration which could be effected by the abolition of the means limit, but as compared with the cost the saving would be infinitesimal.