§ Mr. MANDERasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the following particulars, for the year ended 31st March, 1930, with regard to pensions paid under the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908–1924, namely: the total amount of pensions paid; the cost of administra- 283W tion; the total number of pensions in force, men and women separately; the numbers at 10s., 9s., 8s., 7s., 6s., 5s., 4s., 3s., 2s., and ls.; the number of applications for pensions; the number of applications rejected, giving various causes of rejection, i.e., age, poor relief, means, other causes; the number of pensioners whose death notice has reached pension officers; the number of paupers over 70 years of age in England, Scotland and Wales in institutions, with an average cost per head per annum; the number of persons over 70 years of age in receipt of outdoor relief, with an average cost per head per annum, men and women separately in both cases; the number of old age pensioners in receipt of outdoor relief and institutional relief, respectively, and the total amount so expended; the number of old age pensions paid to persons over 70 years of age under the Widows', Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act, i.e., without means test, men and women separately; cost per head per week of a convict in penal servitude and the prisoner in local prisons; how many persons over 70 years of age are in prison and penal servitude; the number of old age pensioners who have been proceeded against for the violation of any of the provisions of the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1903–1924; and the number of pensioners, men and women separately, who are in receipt of old age pensions, without being subject to the means test, under the provisions of the Widows', Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Acts?
§ Mr. PETHICK-LAWRENCEThe particulars desired by the hon. Member, so far as they are available, are as follow:
OLD AGE PENSIONS UNDER THE OLD AGE PENSIONS ACTS, 1908 TO 1924.
(The figures are for Great Britain and for the year ended 31st March, 1930.)
(1) Total amount paid to pensioners out of the Old Age Pensions Vote, approximately £34,940,000.
NOTE.—This figure includes noncontributory pensions to persons over 70, contributory pensions to persons over 70 paid by virtue of the Acts of 1925 and 1929, and blind pensions to persons between the age of 50 and 70.
(2) Total cost of administration:
- (a) Expenses of Pension Committees, £39,500.
284 - (b) Expenses of administration by the Government Departments concerned estimated at £840,000.
NOTE.—This figure does not include the cost of administration by the Ministry of Health, the Department of Health for Scotland and the Welsh Board of Health, of pensions granted by virtue of the Acts of 1925 and 1929, which is chargeable to the Pensions Accounts.
Final figures are not yet available for any of the above.
(3) The total number of pensions actually payable in England, Scotland and Wales on the last payment date in March, 1930, was as follows:
Non-contributory pensions under the 1908–1924 Acts (including blind pensions):
Men … … 278,686 Women … … 648,049 926,735 Over-70 contributory pensions by virtue of the Acts of 1925 and 1929:
Men … … 284,567 Women … … 162,029 446,596 (4) The number of non-contributory pensions payable at the various rates on the last Friday in March, 1930, was as follows:
901,263 at the 10s. rate.
7,943 at the 8s. rate.
6,854 at the 6s. rate.
2 at the 5s. rate.
6,197 at the 4s. rate.
3,415 at the 2s. rate.
1,061 at the 1s. rate.
These figures do not include the 446,596 over-70 contributory pensions by virtue of the Acts of 1925 and 1929, all of which are at the 10s. rate.
(5) The number of applications for pensions was:
Non-contributory … 118,331 Over-70 contributory … 20,442 NOTE.—The bulk of the over-70 pensions by virtue of the Contributory Pensions Acts are now payable, without application, to persons who on attaining the age of 70 were in receipt of widows' pensions or of 65–70 pensions. 285W A large proportion of the 20,442 claims referred to were made by the wives attaining 70 of men who were over 70 on 2nd January, 1928, when 65–70 pensions began.
(6) Number of applications rejected (non-contributory and over-70 contributory):
The only figures available are the combined figures of claims rejected and pensions revoked which are as follow:
Age … … 4,879 Poor relief … … 10,955 Means … … 12,047 Other causes … … 2,535
NUMBER of PERSONS (other than lunatics in county and borough asylums) in receipt of Poor Law relief in England and Wales on lst January, 1930. — Institutional Relief. Domiciliary Relief. Totals. (i) Total number of persons (all ages) 232,290 867,066 1,099,356 (ii) Number of persons over 65 years of age (included in (i) above) 67,404 143,376 210,780 (iii) Number of persons over 70 years of age (included in (ii) above) 45,632 79,842 125,474 (iv) Number of old age pensioners over 65 years of age (included in (ii) above) 5,268 99,231 104,499 Average weekly cost of Poor Law relief in England and Wales in the financial year 1928–29:
d. s. (i) Average cost of institutional relief (other than relief to lunatics in county and borough asylums) per person in receipt of such relief 28 2½ (ii) Average cost of domiciliary relief per person in receipt of such relief 7¼ 6 These averages cover the same items and are subject to the same qualifications as those previously furnished for the year 1918–19 and earlier years, and set out on page 148 of Part III of the First Annual Report of the Minister of Health (Command Paper 932), except that, in view of the wide fluctuations of pauperism, the
286W(7) Number of pensioners of whose death notice was received:
Non-contributory pensioners 94,508 Over-70 contributory pensioners 14,770 (8) Number of pensioners who have been proceeded against for infringement of the provisions of the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908–24, 17.
(9) PAUPERS IN INSTITUTIONS AND IN RECEIPT OF OUTDOOR RELIEF.
(a) England and Wales.
figures have been calculated on the average weekly numbers in receipt of relief instead of on a mean of the numbers on two dates (1st July and 1st January).
It is not practicable to state the average cost per head for men and women separately nor the total expenditure on Poor Law relief granted to Old Age Pensioners.
(b) Scotland.
No figures are available as to the number of persons admitted to poorhouses who were in receipt of Old Age Pensions whilst inmates thereof, or of those who were in receipt of Old Age Pensions up to the date of admission.
The number of paupers and dependants of all classes in Scotland at 15th May, 1929, was:
287W
— Males. Females. Dependants. Total. Sane Poor: In Poorhouses: Ordinary 7,515 4,131 714 12,360 Destitute able-bodiod unemployed 547 53 117 717 Outdoor: Ordinary 21,585 32,191 51,523 105,299 Destitute able-bodied unemployed 21,420 1,596 50,702 73,722 other than Sane Poor: In licensed wards of Poorhouses, Greenock Parochial Asylum and in Certified Institutions for Mental Defectives. 692 661 — 1,363 In Asylums 7,618 7,299 — 14,917 In private dwellings and Mental Defectives boarded with Governors of Poorhouses. 1,208 1,380 — 2,588 The average weekly cost of all sane paupers and dependants for 1928–9 on the basis of the number chargeable other than destitute able-bodied unemployed, at 15th May, 1929, was:
Indoor … … … … … £1 2 7 Outdoor … … … … … 6 3 These average costs are exclusive of general administrative charges. Indoor cost includes cost of maintenance, management, debt charges, etc., of poorhouses. Outdoor cost includes aliment, additional aliment (e.g. clothing, boots, fuel. etc.), removals, interments and medical charges.
The number of sane paupers and dependants in Scotland over 70 at 15th September, 1929, and 15th January, 1930, was:
— Males. Females. Dependants. Total. 15th September, 1929: In Poorhouses … … … … 1,223 1,079 10 2,312 Outdoor … … … … 4,160 5,847 800 10,807 15th January, 1930: In Poorhouses … … … … 1,315 1,085 11 2,411 Outdoor … … … … 4,503 6,056 947 11,506 These outdoor poor include Old Age Pensioners as follow:
— Males. Females. Dependants. Total. At 15th September, 1929 … … … … 3,365 4,796 678 8,839 At 15th January, 1930 … … … … 3,637 4,949 816 9,402 There were also lunatic poor of 70 years of age and upwards who cannot be allocated between Indoor and Outdoor:
288W289W
— Males. Females. Total. At 15th September, 1929 … … … … … … 541 810 1,351 At 15th January, 1930 … … … … … … 554 805 1,359 (10) COST OF MAINTENANCE OF CONVICTS AND LOCAL PRISONERS.
(a) England and Wales.
The latest available figures are for the year ended 31st March, 1929 and are as follow:— — Gross cost, per week, per head. Net cost, after deducting value of labour and incidental receipts, per week, per head. £ s. d. £ s. d. Convict prisoners … … … … 1 18 9 1 5 6 Local prisoners … … … … 1 10 8 0 19 4 The above figures do not include cost.
(A) New Buildings and
(B) Charges borne by other Votes, e.g. Fuel, Rates, etc. The cost of (B) is approximately 11s. 3d. per head per week, in respect of all classes of prisoners.
(b) Scotland.
The figures for Scotland for the year ended 31st December, 1929, are as follow:
Per head per week. £ s. d. Convicts … 2 2 2 Local Prisoners … 1 6 8 (11) PERSONS OVER 70 YEARS OF AGE IN PRISON.
(a) England and Wales.
The latest statistics relate to the year ended 31st December, 1928. During this period the total number of convicted prisoners received into prison (including those sentenced to penal servitude) who were 70 years of age or over was 225 men and 63 women. There is no information available showing how many of these were sentenced to penal servitude.
(b) Scotland.
During the year ended 31st March, 1930, 92 persons (72 males and 20 females) over 70 years of age were confined in Scottish prisons, of whom 64 males and 20 females were convicted and eight males were untried. One of the convicted male prisoners was sentenced to penal servitude. Of the convicted prisoners one male was convicted three times, one female five times, one female four times and one female twice; but each is shown only once in the above figures.
290W(12) Old age pensions payable under the Widows', Orphans' and Contributory Old Age Pensions Acts to persons between the ages of 65 and 70:
Men 372,687 Women 215,085 Total 587,772