§ Mr. Hillasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will reconsider and correct the disparity in ex-Service men's widows' pensions between pre-1948 assessments and post-1948 assessments.
§ Mr. SpeedI am aware of no disparity in ex-Service men's widows' pensions between pre-1948 and post-1948 assessments. Help for the widows of Service men below the rank of warrant officer I discharged to pension before 1st September 1950 and who, at present, have no eligibility for a Service widow's pension, was promised in the recent Conservative Party manifesto. I am, therefore, carrying out an examination of the whole question to see how this can best be done.
The outcome of the study will be announced in due course.