§ Lord Mottistoneasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will explain further the amendment to war pensions legislation in relation to death or disablement due to the use or effects of tobacco or the consumption of alcohol.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Social Security (Viscount Astor)The amendments, which came into force on 28 March, do not represent a change in policy. We remain fully committed to a war pensions scheme that recognises the sacrifice of those who suffered disablement or death in the service of the country. The scheme was never intended to provide compensation for the effects of personal habits such as smoking and drinking. The amendments ensure that the law now fully reflects the long-standing policy of successive governments that such personal habits should only be regarded as attributable to service where there is a severely disabling mental condition, itself attributable to service, that renders the individual incapable of exercising personal choice.
Although there is no statutory duty to consult, the customary mechanism for consultation on proposed changes to war pensions legislation is through the legally-constituted Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions (the CAC). Eight members of the CAC expressed support for the proposals and 11 members expressed opposition. One war pensions committee gave details of its members' views. These showed 13 members in favour of the proposal and six against.
Following the consultation and after giving full and lengthy consideration to all the representations received, we decided to go ahead with the amendments, but to make an important change to reduce from 80 per cent. to 50 per cent. the minimum level of attributable mental disablement that might be accepted as causing the claimant to smoke or drink and might therefore give rise to an award. By setting the threshold at this level we are ensuring that even those claims that are least likely to succeed will receive the fullest consideration.
No one who has been awarded a war disablement or war widow's pension for disablement or death caused by smoking or drinking will have that entitlement withdrawn. Furthermore we have not proscribed diseases linked to smoking or alcohol. The amendments serve only to exclude those claims where a disease can be attributed exclusively to the effects of smoking or alcohol. So, if a person who smokes claims as a result of a chronic chest condition, for example, and there is reliable evidence to raise a reasonable doubt that the condition may be service-related in some way, perhaps due to poor conditions during the war, a war pension will still be payable in the normal way.
10WAEqually, in a widow's claim, if there was more than one cause of death, one smoking-related and the other not smoking-related but still linked to service, the claim will still be considered in the normal way.