§ Mr. Houghtonasked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that the scheme announced by the British Transport Commission for supplementing the pensions of certain retired salaried staff of British Railways is much less favourable than that applied to retired public servants under the Pensions (Increase) Acts, 1944 to 1952: and whether he will ask the 116W British Transport Commission to bring the scheme into line with that approved by Parliament for central and local government pensioners.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI know that the Commission's scheme for supplementing the pensions of certain of their pensioners does not go as far as the increases given by the Pensions (Increase) Acts. As I explained to the House in the course of the debate on the Adjournment on 17th March, 1953, I must have regard to the Commission's statutory duty to make ends meet and I recognise that in present financial conditions the scheme is the most that can reasonably be expected of them.