§ Mr. Jesselasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is her estimate of the numbers now surviving in the United Kingdom of men who had reached the age of 65 years and of women who had reached the age of 60 years in 1948 ; and what would be the annual cost in each of the next 10 years of granting death grant at the current rate in respect of such persons.
§ Mr. Alec Jones:It is estimated that there are 275,000 persons in the United Kingdom who were over pensionable age on 5th July 1948. The estimated annual 265W cost over the next 10 years of paying death grant of £30 in respect of those persons would be:
Year Cost £m 1975–76 1.7 1976–77 1.4 1977–78 1.2 1978–79 0.9 1979–80 0.8 1980–81 0.6 1981–82 0.4 1982–83 0.3 1983–84 0.2 1984–85 0.2 In fairness, however, it would also be necessary to increase to the full £30 rate the present half-rate grant payable in respect of the deaths of 1,515,000 persons in the United Kingdom who were within 10 years of pensionable age on 5th July 1948 ; and the additional annual cost of these grants would be:
Year Cost £m 1975–76 2.5 1976–77 2.4 1977–78 2.2 1978–79 2.1 1979–80 1.9 1980–81 1.8 1981–82 1.6 1982–83 1.5 1983–84 1.3 1984–85 1.1 The full cost for the 10 years would, therefore, be just over £26 million.