§ Mrs. Winifred Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek to take steps to assist war widows on questions of (a) differentials between a war widow of 1939 and a war widow of a man killed in Ulster, (b) to bring the war widows' pensions into line with those paid in the other EEC countries and (c) to exempt widows' pensions completely from income tax assessment.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisWar widows' pensions administered by my Department are paid on the same basis regardless of whether or not the Service man was a Regular or where he was killed. The hon. Member may have in mind the provisions of the Armed Forces Pensions Scheme. This is an occupational pensions scheme for career Service men operated by the Ministry of Defence and its provisions are entirely separate from the war pensions scheme.
Rates of war pensions and war widows' pensions vary widely from country to country within the EEC according to social and other factors. There are no plans for harmonisation of these benefits.
Taxation of pensions is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. War widows now have tax exemption on 50 per cent. of their war widows' pensions. This ensures that no war widow whose only income is the standard war widows' pension has any tax to pay.