Colonel PHILIPPSasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention has been called to the case of Mr. Bushell, who, after completing 43 years' service in the Ordnance Survey, was awarded a reduced pension in June last owing to an adverse report by the Director-General; whether Mr. Bushell had already been punished for the fault complained of by the Director-General by having his rate of pay reduced; whether the full amount of pension is based on the average rate of pay of the last three years; and, if so, whether, seeing that the result of now granting a reduced pension is that Mr. Bushell is punished twice over for one fault, if any miscarriage of justice has taken place, he will issue orders to have the matter rectified?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEThe answer to the first paragraph of my hon. Friend's question is in the affirmative. Mr. Bushell's pay was reduced on four occasions for bad work. It was, however, subsequently increased, and his average rate of pay for the last three years on which his pension was calculated was considerably in excess of the amounts to which his pay had been reduced. As it could not be certified without qualification that Mr. Bushell had served with diligence and fidelity to the satisfaction of his head officer, the Treasury was debarred by the provisions of Section 8 of the Superannuation Act, 1859, from awarding the full amount of pension, and I do not consider that the deduction made from that amount was in any way excessive.