§ Mr. Viggersasked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will list the groups of public servants who are protected against cost of living increases for their pensions under the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971, 374W giving the number of persons in each group.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisThe detailed list of the categories of United Kingdom public servants covered directly by the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 is to be found in Schedules 2 and 3 of that Act. The major categories and the estimated numbers of employees covered by their pension schemes are as follows:
Civil Service 719,000 Local Government 1,000,000 National Health Service 653,000 Teachers 597,000 Police 118,000 Fire Service 35,000 Other small groups (including the Judiciary and Members of Parliament) 2,000 In addition, the Armed Forces—with 333,000 employees—follow the Act by analogy, as do many other small public sector bodies for whose schemes I have responsibility. There are very approximately 71,000 employees in these small bodies. About 1,800,000 former employees and dependants currently receive pensions which are increased, directly or indirectly, under the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971.