§ Mr. Tapsellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will remove the contributions condition which states that contributions must be made for at least half the weeks between a woman's marriage and her 60th birthday, thus preventing some women who have paid contributions for many years before their marriage from receiving any pension.
§ Mr. SwinglerThis special test is a necessary complement to the provisions which enable a married woman to choose either to pay contributions for retirement pension on her own insurance or, instead, to rely upon her husband's insurance for a pension. It is designed to establish whether a woman has seriously intended to rely after marriage on her own insurance rather than her husband's. The position of married women in relation to national insurance is one of the matters which will be discussed in the White Paper to be published this winter.