§ 72. Mr. Fieldasked the Minister of National Insurance the number of persons in receipt of contributory and noncontributory old age pensions.
§ Mr. PeakeAt 31st December last about 4,260,000 persons were receiving retirement and contributory old-age pensions, and about 398,000 were receiving non-contributory old age pensions (including blind persons' pensions).
§ 73. Mr. Fieldasked the Minister of National Insurance whether he will consider amending the National Insurance (Non-contributory Old Age Pensions) Regulations, 1946, Statutory Rule and Order, 1946, No. 1400, Regulation 2 and the Schedule thereto, to ensure that the method of calculating the income of a claimant from the yearly value of property shall be founded upon the actual income received in the preceding year.
§ 75. Mr. T. Brownasked the Minister of National Insurance the estimated cost of increasing the basic pension by 5s. per week to all old-age pensioners now in receipt of pensions through his Department, giving the cost for males and females separately.
§ Mr. PeakeThe cost to the National Insurance Fund would be about £56 million a year—about £20 million for men and £36 million for women.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Minister of National Insurance whether he will consider the revision of the present table of 12W yearly means of claimants to noncontributory old age pensions, in order to bring the figures against which the rate of pension per week is calculated to amounts which have a closer relation to the present cost of living.