HC Deb 15 July 1974 vol 877 cc53-4W
Mr. Viggers

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the amount of a war widow's pension granted in 1946 to the widow of (a) a private soldier and (b) a captain; what are the current payments in each case; and how the increase in pension compares with the amount of inflation over the same period.

Mr. Robert C. Brown

The annual rates in June 1946 were (a) £91 and (b) £165 compared with the new rates of (a) £676 and (b) £753 from 22nd July. The increases are 643 per cent. and 356 per cent. respectively. Between June 1946 and May 1974, the index of retail prices is calculated to have increased by just over 250 per cent. The disparity in the percentage increases is explained by the fact that the rank additions to pension were frozen in 1946.