§ 78. Mr. Marplesasked the Minister of National Insurance the average time now taken between the receipt of the application and the issuing of the pension in the case of an old-age pension and a widow's pension.
§ Mr. J. GriffithsThe average time taken between the receipt of a claim to widow's pension and the issuing of the pension is about five weeks. As regards old age pension, for which application may be made in advance, about two-thirds of the pensions are awarded before the date on which the first payment becomes due, and the remainder are decided, on average about four weeks after that date.