§ Mr. Farrasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total annual cost to the United Kingdom of the social security convention entered into with Australia and New Zealand under which those countries take account of periods of United Kingdom residence in awarding their old-age pension and how many pensioners are involved in each country.
§ Dr. BoysonUnder the United Kingdom's social security conventions with Australia and New Zealand both these countries supplement British pension rates for pensioners living in their countries. The cost of these supplements is borne entirely by the country concerned. Under the same conventions, when calculating retirement and widow's pension entitlement for people living here, the United Kingdom counts periods of residence in Australia and New Zealand as periods for which national insurance contributions were paid.
There are also provisions to help people moving in the United Kingdom to qualify for child benefit, guardian's allowance, sickness and invalidity benefits and unemployment benefit. The conventions have been in operation for over 25 years and it is not possible to calculate the current annual cost.