§ 71. Mr. H. Hyndasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the scale of pensions for police officers who are injured on duty and for the widows for those who are killed; and whether he will make a statement about the pension of 2s. 10d. per week that has been awarded to Anthony Still.
§ Major Lloyd-GeorgeI regret the injuries which led to Mr. Anthony Still's retirement from the police force, and I am glad to take this opportunity to correct any misunderstanding about his pension entitlement. He will receive, in addition to the ill-health pension, based on length of service, to which the hon. Member refers, an injury award related to the degree to which his earning capacity has been affected. This will ensure that the amount he receives does not fall below £2 5s. 6d. a week. His degree of disablement is at present assessed at 40 per cent. If this deteriorates the amount will be increased and may reach a maximum of £5 13s. 9d. a week.
The following are the scales of police pensions to which the hon. Member refers.
- 1. A police officer who becomes unfit for further service as the result of an injury received without his own default in the execution of his duty is entitled to two awards under the Police Pensions Regulations.
217 - 2. The first award is an ill-health pension related to his length of pensionable service. The scale of this pension is one-sixtieth of the officer's average pensionable pay for each year of pensionable service up to twenty years, with the addition of one-sixtieth for each completed half year after twenty years service up to a maximum of forty-sixtieths.
- 3. The second award is a supplemental pension related to the degree to which the officer's earning capacity has been affected. This pension is of any amount necessary to bring the officer's income for any week from his ill-health pension together with any award under the national insurance schemes (other than constant attendance allowance) which he is receiving in respect of his injury up to a standard amount. The standard amount for an officer who is 100 per cent. disabled rises from forty-sixtieths of pensionable pay for ten years service or less, to fifty-sixtieths for thirty years service or more. If the officer is less than 100 per cent. disabled these scales are reduced proportionately subject to a minimum rising from fifteen-sixtieths for ten years service or less to forty-sixtieths for thirty years service or more.
- 4. If a police officer dies as the result of an injury received without his own default in the execution of his duty his widow is entitled to a widow's special pension. Subject to the widow receiving a minimum of one-sixth of her husband's average pensionable pay, the pension is of the amount required to bring any award which she receives under the national insurance schemes in respect of her husband's death up to one-third of her husband's average pensionable pay, or, if her husband died as the result of an attack intrinsically likely to cause his death, up to one-half of his average pensionable pay.