§ 72. Miss Herbisonasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what would be the cost of giving to all retirement pensioners in receipt of a contributory national insurance or non-contributory pension twice their present rate of payment for the two weeks before Christmas.
§ 73. Mrs. Cullenasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what proportion of average earnings the present retirement pension represents; and what proportion of average earnings the retirement pension of 1938 represented.
§ Mr. WoodOn the basis of the Ministry of Labour's inquiries into the 33W average earnings of men in manufacturing and some of the principal non-manufacturing industries, and the rate of pension for a single person, 21 per cent. and 14½ per cent. respectively. Corresponding figures for women are 41 per cent. and 31 per cent.
§ 79. Mr. J. Bennettasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what was the value in terms of 1946 prices of the single adult retirement pension in October of each year from October, 1946.
§ Mr. WoodThe table below gives the information:
— Rate of Retirement Pension for a single person Value in terms of October 1946 prices* s. d. s. d. October 1946 26 0 26 0 1947 26 0 25 8 1948 26 0 24 0 1949 26 0 23 2 1950 26 0 22 7 1951 30 0 23 4 1952 32 6 23 7 1953 32 6 23 2 1954 32 0 22 7 1955 40 0 26 5 1956 40 0 25 5 1957 40 0 24 4 1958 50 0 29 10 1959 50 0 29 10 1960 50 0 29 3 1961 57 6 32 5 1962 57 6 31 6 1963 67 6 36 2 * On the basis of the Retail Prices Index from June, 1947, and the Cost of Living Index for the earlier period.