HC Deb 01 March 1912 vol 34 cc1791-2W
Mr. NIELD

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether it is with his knowledge and sanction that arrears of old age pensions are paid to persons in respect of periods during which they have been inmates of Poor Law infirmaries and workhouses, and thus maintained at the public expense; whether he is aware that no less than 119 of such cases have during the last year occurred in the area of Brentford union; and whether he will cause inquiry to be made into the extent of the practice throughout the unions under the control of his Department?

Mr. BURNS

A person is not disqualified from receiving an old age pension ort account of the receipt of poor relief when the relief is medical or other relief expressly mentioned in Section 3 (1) of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908. The Local Government Board have, however, no information as to the number of cases in which arrears of pensions are paid to pensioners. The matter is one for the Treasury rather than for the Local Government Board.