§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his most recent estimate of the cost over a full year of exempting the whole of (a) widow's allowance and (b) widow's pension for income tax purposes.
§ Mr. Peter ReesThe cost of exempting from income tax the widow's allowance, including the earnings-related supplement, is not known precisely but would be of the order of £10 million in a full year at 1980–81 income levels.
The cost of exempting the national insurance widow's pension, and retirement pension paid to widows under 65, would be about £110 million in a full year at 1980–81 income levels.