HC Deb 13 July 1937 vol 326 cc1075-6W
Mr. McEntee

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1) whether he is aware that ex-prison officer J. S. Maslen was on the official roll of the prison staff from 1911 till January, 1937, making 26 years' service; that he served about four years in the Great War, remaining on the establishment of the prison service, and was pensioned on 22 years' service only; and if he will reconsider the pension of the ex-soldier so that he may not be penalised for having served his country in the Great War, having regard to the fact that he had been in receipt of a 20 per cent. disability pension;

(2) whether he will state the amount of pension and gratuity, respectively, awarded to prison-officer J. S. Maslen, who retired from Bristol Prison in January of this year; and the amount of pension and gratuity he would have received had he remained at home during the Great War?

Lieut.-Colonel Colville

This officer was awarded a pension of £47 11s. per annum with an additional allowance (lump sum) of £126 15s. 11d. He served in the Prison Service for 25 completed years, during some four of which he was absent on military service.

Section 5 of the Superannuation Act, 1887, provides that a person shall not be entitled to reckon the same period of time both for the purpose of a superannuation allowance under the Superannuation Act and also for the purpose of naval or military non-effective pay.

The officer has since 8th April, 1919, been in receipt of a military service pension under Army Order 330 of 1918, which was calculated upon a service of 19 years, including his service in the reserve and with the colours from 13th June, 1911, to 12th June, 1918, which was also civil service. It was therefore only possible to award him a civil pension calculated upon his subsequent service, which amounted to 18 years. The officer was given the option of surrendering his military pension and refunding the amounts already paid, in order that his whole service might be reckoned for civil pension. In that case, it would have been possible to award him a civil pension of £79 4s. 11d. per annum with an additional allowance of £211 6s. 5d.

I regret that the civil pension payable under this alternative was erroneously calculated upon a service of 26 years, and the alternative figures consequently overstated to the officer. He decided, however, not to adopt the alternative.