§ 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 1263W for the year ended 31st March, 1927, namely, the total amount paid in pensions; the total cost of administration; the total number of pensions actually payable on the first Friday in March, 1927, 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 is.; 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 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 a prisoner in ordinary prisons for the year ended as above; and the number of persons over 70 years of age in prisons and in penal servitude during the year ended as above?
§ Mr. McNEILLThe particulars desired by the hon. Member, as far as they are available, are as follow:
Old Age Pensions. (The figures are for Great Britain and for the year ended 31st March, 1927.) £ (1) Total amount paid in pensions, including those by virtue of the 1925 Act, was, approximately 29,983,000 (2) Total cost of administration:— (a) Expenses of Pension Committees 51,400 (b) Expenses of administration by Government Departments concerned, estimated at 877,000 (See Note to Estimates, Civil Service, Class VI, Vote 3,1926–27.)
Note.—This figure does not include the cost of administration by the Ministry of Health and the Scottish Board of Health of pensions granted by virtue of the 1925 Act. This cost is chargeable to the Pensions Account, but the final figures are not yet available.
1264W(3) The total number of pensions actually payable on the last Friday in March, 1927, was:—
Men … … 361,140 Women … … 670,435 Total … … 1,031,575 To these figures those in respect of contributory old age pensioners fall to be added, namely:—
166,132
(The figures for the first Friday in March are not available.)
(4) The number of pensions payable at the various rates on the last Friday in March, 1927, was:—
1,175,259 at the 10s. rate. 6,551 at the 8s. rate. 5,870 at the 6s. rate. 17 at the 5s. rate. 5,731 at the 4s. rate. 1 at the 3s. rate. 3,325 at the 2s. rate. 953 at the Is. rate. These figures include the 166,132 under the contributory scheme, all of which are at the 10s. rate.
(5) The number of applications for pensions was:—
Contributory … … 234,898 Non-contributory … … 163,377 (6) Number of applications (contributory and non-contributory) rejected. The only figures available are the combined figures of claims rejected and of pensions revoked, which are as follows:—
Age … … 10,329 Poor relief … … 14,316 Means … … 19,338 Other causes … … 2,252 46,235 (7) The number of non-contributory pensioners of whose death information reached the pension officers was:—
117,443
Statistics of the deaths of contributory pensioners in England and Wales were not rendered to headquarters prior to the quarter commencing 1st January, 1927; for that quarter the number of deaths was 2,689.
In Scotland the number of deaths of contributory pensioners notified during the year to 31st March, 1927, was 742.
(8) and (9) Paupers in institutions and in receipt of Outdoor Relief.
(a) England and Wales.—Number of persons (other than lunatics in asylums) in receipt of Poor Law relief in England and Wales on the 1st January, 1927.
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— Institutional Relief. Domiciliary Relief. Total. (i) Total number of persons (all ages) 236,492 1,212,553 1,449,045 (ii) Number of persons over 70 years of age (included in (i) above). 46,731 65,483 112,214 (iii) Number of old age pensioners (included in (ii) above). 4,273 63,489 67,762 Average weekly cost of Poor Law relief in England and Wales in the financial year 1925–26:
s. d. (i)Average cost of institutional relief (other than relief to lunatics in asylums) per person in receipt of such relief 27 9¾ (ii)Average cost of domiciliary relief per person in receipt of such relief 6 8¼ 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),
— Males. Females. Dependants. Total. Sane Poor: In Poor houses Ordinary 7,571 4,289 564 12,424 Destitute Able-bodied Unemployed. 453 49 123 625 Outdoor Ordinary 17,879 31,633 51,817 101,329 Miners' Families 7,775 18 27,260 35,053 Destitute Able-bodied Unemployed. 31,714 3,361 83,345 118,420 Other than Sane Poor: In Licensed Wards of Poor-houses Greenock Parochial Asylum and in certified Institutions for Mental Defectives. 693 654 — 1,347 In Asylums 7,061 7,010 — 14,071 In Private Dwellings and Mental Defectives boarded with Governors of poorhouses. 1,216 1,461 — 2,677 The average weekly cost of all sane paupers and dependants for 1925–26 on the basis of the number chargeable (other than destitute able-bodied and miners' families) at 15th May, 1926, was:
s. d. Indoor … … … 19 2 Outdoor … … … 6 11
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— Males. Females. Dependants. Total. 15th September, 1926. In Poorhouses … … … 1,250 1,113 5 2,368 Outdoor … … … 2,808 4,679 661 8148 15th January,1927. In Poorhouses … … … 1,295 1,152 4 2,451 Outdoor … … … 2,932 4,749 776 8,457 except that, in view of the wide fluctuations of pauperism, the figures have been calculated on the average weekly numbers in receipt of relief instead of on a mean of the numbers on two dates (1st July and 1st January). It has not been found practicable to state the average cost per head for men and women separately.
(b) Scotland.—No figures are available as to the number of persons admitted to poorhouses who were in receipt of old age pensions whilst inmates thereof, nor of those who were in receipt of old age pensions up to the date of admission.
The number of paupers and dependants of all classes in Scotland at 15th May, 1926, was:
These average costs are exclusive of general administrative charges. Indoor cost includes cost of maintenance, management, debt charges, etc., of poorhouse. Outdoor cost includes aliment, additional aliment (e.g., clothing, boots, fuel, etc.), removals, interments, and medical charges.
The number of sane paupers and dependants in Scotland over 70 at 15th September, 1926, and 15th January, 1927, was:
1267WThese outdoor poor include Old Age Pensioners as follows:—
— Males. Females. Dependants. Total. At 15th September, 1926 … … 2,162 3,679 510 6,351 At 15th January, 1927 … … 2,319 3,816 615 6,750 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, 1926 … … … … 481 797 1,278 At 15th January, 1927 … … … … 480 795 1,275 (10)Cost of Maintenance of Convicts and Local Prisoners.
(a) England and Wales.—The latest available figures are for the year 1925–26, and are as follow:
Convicts: Per head per week £ s. d. Gross cost 2 3 8 Net cost, after deducting value of labour and incidental receipts 1 9 11 Local prisoner: Per head per week £ s. d. Gross cost 1 13 0 Net cost, after deducting value of labour and incidental receipts 1 2 7 (b) Scottand.—The latest available figures are for the year ended 31st December, 1926, and are as follow:
Per head per week £ s. d. Convicts … … … 1 18 10 Local prisoners … … … 1 5 2 (11) Persons over 70 years of age in Prison.
(a) England and Wales.—The total number of convicted persons received into prisons (including those sentenced to penal servitude) who were 70 years of age and
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—— England and Wales. Scotland. Number. Duty. Number. Duty. £ £ Total number of licences for sale of intoxicating liquors (including occasional licences). 146,512 3,697,667 17,579 283,973 Publicans' licences 57,273 2,877,996 5,882 209,320 Beer retailers' "On" licences 21,699 422,130 148 671 Wine retailers' "On" licences 2,728 22,215 15 71 over, during the year ended 31st March, 1926, was 30 men and 53 women. There is no information readily available showing how many of these were sentenced to penal servitude.
(b) Scotland.—During the year ended 31st March, 1927, 59 persons (47 males and 12 females) over 70 years of age were confined in prisons, of whom 44 males and 11 females were convicted (one male being convicted three times during the year), and three males and one female were untried; one male was in penal servitude.