§ 74. Sir E. Erringtonasked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the total amount of money made available annually for the award of compassionate pensions for good service to permanent Regular officers who are in need or who have met with misfortune; how many such pensions have been issued in each year between 1949 and 1955; what is the highest and lowest amount paid; and how many of the recipients were in receipt of Service retired pay.
§ Mr. DigbyAn annual amount of £4,000 is available for the award of naval compassionate pensions. One hundred and eight awards have been made since 1949, the numbers in individual years being: 1949–50, 24; 1950–51, 20; 1951–52, 7; 1952–53, 47; 1953–54, 4; 1954–55, 5; and 1955–56, 1. All awards have been at the rate of £50 a year, and eighty pensions are at present in issue. With three exceptions, the recipients were already in receipt of retired pay.