§ Mr. G. THORNEasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is now in a position to furnish the following desired particulars as to old age pensions: particulars as to year ended 31st March, 1922; total amount paid in pensions; the total cost of administration; the total number of pensions actually payable on the first Friday in March, 1922, stating those for men and those for women separately in both cases; the number of pensions paid at the varying rates of 10s., 9s., 8s., 7s., 6s., 5s., 4s., 3s., 2s., and 1s.; the number of applications for pensions; the number of applications rejected, giving various causes of rejection, age, poor relief, means, and other causes; the number of pensioners of whose deaths notifications have reached the office of the pensions officers during the year ended as above; the number of paupers over 70 years of age in England, Scotland and Wales, and in institutions, stating the average cost per head per annum; the number of paupers over 70 years of age in receipt of outdoor relief, stating the average cost per head per annum of men and women separately in both cases; the average weekly cost of a convict in penal servitude and prisoner in ordinary prisons for the year ended as above; and the number of persons over 70 years of age in prisons and penal servitude during the year ended as above?
§ Sir J. BAIRDThe particulars desired by my hon. Friend with regard to old ago pensions during the year ended 31st March, 1922, so far as they are available, are as follow:
(1) Total amount paid in pensions.— Approximately, £26,009,500, exclu- 210W sive of the cost of pensions in Northern Ireland from the 1st December, 1921.
(2) Total cost of administration.— Expenses of pensions committees, £59,350, approximately. Expenses of administration by Government Departments concerned, including cost of payment by the Post Office, printing of pensions books and forms, cost of appeals, searches in registers, estimated at £998,803. (See note to Estimates, Civil Service, Class 6, Vote 2, 1921–22.)
(3) Total number of pensions payable to men and to women on last-Friday in March, 1922:
Men … … 366,255 Women … … 663,112 1,029,367 (4) Number of pensions paid at the various rates (on last Friday in March, 1922):
958,909 at 10s. rate. 27,767 at 8s. rate. 19,500 at 6s. rate. 823 at 5s. rate. 13,937 at 4s. rate. 117 at 3s. rate. 6,653 at 2s. rate. 1,661 at 1s. rate. Total 1,029,367 (5) Number of applications for pensions, 202,208.
(6) Number of applications rejected. The only figures available are the combined figures of claims rejected and pensions revoked, which are as follow:
Age … … 15,603 Poor relief … … 14,735 Means … … 19,475 Other causes … … 2,224 (7) Number of pensioners of whose deaths information reached the pension officers, 114,413.
(8) The number of persons over 70 years of age in England and Wales in institutions (other than lunatic asylums) and in receipt of out-door relief on the 1st January, 1922, the latest date for which figures are available, is as follows: 211W
— Institutional Relief. Domiciliary Relief. Totals. (i) Total number of persons (all ages) 222,268 1,183,516 1,405,784 (ii) Number of persons over 70 years of age (included in (i) above.) 42,692 21,278 63,970 (iii) Number of old age pensioners (included in (ii) above). 3,190 19,084 22,274 (9) Average weekly cost of Poor Law relief in England and Wales in the financial year 1920–21 (approximate):
s. d. (i) Average cost of institutional relief (other than relief to lunatics in lunatic asylums) per person in receipt of such relief 35 6¼ (ii) Average cost of domiciliary relief per person in receipt of such relief 7 7¾
— Males. Females. Dependants. Total. Sane Poor;— In Poorhouses 6,044 3,890 473 10,407 Outdoor (Ordinary) 9,707 25,907 36,272 71,886 Outdoor (Destitute able-bodied unemployed). 263 3 1,212 1,478 Other than Sane Poor:— In Licensed Wards of Poorhouses and Greenock Parochial Asylum. 527 538 — 1,065 In Asylums 6,413 6,412 — 12,825 In Private Dwellings 1,113 1,395 — 2,508 The average weekly cost of all sane paupers and dependants in Scotland for 1920–21, on the basis of the number chargeable (other than destitute able-bodied), at 15th May, 1921, was:
£ s. d. Indoor … … … 1 7 6 Outdoor … … … 7 0 These average costs are exclusive of general administrative charges. Indoor
212W
— Males. Females. Dependants. Total. 15th September, 1921:— In Poorhouses … … … … 1,247 1,044 11 2,302 Outdoor … … … … 972 2,680 184 3,836 15th January, 1922:— In Poorhouses … … … … 1,316 1,065 14 2,395 Outdoor … … … … 1,097 2,809 220 4,126 These averages cover the same items and are subject to the same qualifications as those previously furnished for the year 1918–19 and earlier years and set out on page 148 of Part III of the First Annual Report of the Minister of Health (Command Paper 932). I regret that it has not been found practicable to give the average cost per head for men and women separately.
(10) The number of paupers and dependants of all classes in Scotland at 15th May, 1921, was:
cost includes cost of maintenance, management, debt charges, etc., of poor-houses. Outdoor cost includes aliment, additional aliments (namely, clothing, boots, fuel, etc.), removals, interments and medical charges.
The number of sane paupers and dependants in Scotland over 70 at 15th September, 1921, and l5th January, 1922, was:
213WThese outdoor poor include old age pensioners as follows:
At 15th September, 1921 … … … 671 1,887 118 2,676 At 15th January, 1922 … … … 771 2,024 136 2,931 There were also lunatic poor of 70 years of age and upwards who cannot be allocated between indoor and outdoor:
— Males. Females. Total. At 15th September, 1921 … … … … … 426 721 1,147 At 15th January, 1922 … … … … … 411 709 1,120 (11) The average weekly cost of prisoners in England and Wales for the financial year 1920–21, which is the latest for Which figures are available, is as follows:
Convicts. Per week. £ s. d. Gross cost … … … 3 3 9 Net cost after deducting value of labour and incidental receipts … … … 2 9 7 Local Prisoners. Gross cost … … … 2 2 4 Net cost after deductions as above … … … 1 12 6 (12) The number of persons over 70 years of age in prisons and penal servitude during the year ended 31st March, 1922, is not available.