§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Inverness West (Mr. Kennedy), about MoD pensions, if he will make a statement on the letters the MoD have sent to MoD pensioners about arrangements for collecting their pensions in post offices; and how many such letters have been sent. [53079]
§ The Prime MinisterLetters were sent to some 6,700 recipients of occupational pensions from the armed forces in December last year informing them about revised arrangements, to be introduced from April 2002, for those who collected their pensions at Post. Offices. The revised arrangements offer a more secure system of payment, and are most cost-effective. Pensioners may continue to draw cash at Post Offices subject to having an account with the following banks—The Alliance and Leicester, Barclays, Cahoot, Lloyds TSB, Smile or the Co-Operative Bank. These new arrangements apply to armed forces occupational pensions and not to state pensions.