§ Sir W. WAYLANDasked the Home Secretary what is the approximate additional cost when a prison officer is compelled to retire on pension otherwise than through ill health at the age of 55 instead of 60 and reaching his maximum rate of pay, taking into account the superannuation allowances of the retired officer and the pay and allowances of a newly-appointed officer in his place; the number of prison officers who have been retired compulsorily during the five years ending 31st December last; and the total additional cost?
§ Sir J. GILMOUR:The number of officers of all ranks who during the five years ended 31st December last retired between the ages of 55 and 60 was 322; the number of officers of the lowest rank included in that number is 162. It is impossible, without examination of the individual record in each case, to say how many of these officers retired on medical grounds, how many exercised their option under the Superannuation (Prison Officers) Act to retire before reaching the age of 60, and how many were given notice to retire by the Prison Commissioners before reaching the age of 60. The considerations involved in assessing the average cost involved in an individual case of retirement and the total cost over the five-year period are so complex that it would be impossible without an 1360W inordinate amount of work to arrive at a figure which would approximate to accuracy.