§ Mr. Lewisasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance to publish in HANSARD a table of figures showing the amounts of the retirement pensions in 1945; the dates on which these pen- 70W sions were increased; and, taking the £ sterling as having a purchasing value of 20s. in 1945, what was the relative purchasing value of these pensions on the dates stated, after allowing for the depreciation in the purchasing value of the £ sterling.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterThe information is given in the following table:
Date Rates of pensions *Values (£=20s. in 1945) Single Married Single Married s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. 1945† 10 0 20 0 10 0 20 0 30th Sept., 1946‡ 26 0 42 0 26 0 42 0 1st Oct., 1951§ 30 0 50 0 23 4 38 10 2nd Oct., 1952 32 6 54 0 23 7 39 3 25th April, 1955 40 0 65 0 27 3 44 3 * By reference to Cost of Living and Retail Prices Indexes. † Old age pensions. ‡ Old age pensions subject to retirement. § New pensions continued to be awarded at the old rates to pensioners who attained pensionable age after 1st October, 1951.