§ 3. Sir E. Erringtonasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what is the cost per annum to the latest convenient date of the age allowance for pensioners who suffer from war disability and are over 65 years of age; and what would be the additional annual cost of extending this age allowance from the present 40 per cent. to all war disabled at the age of 65 years.
§ Mr. WoodThe annual cost of the age allowance for disabled war pensioners at 31st December, 1963, was just under £1½ million. The extra cost of extending the allowance, at the rate of 5s. a week, to pensioners whose disablement is assessed at less than 40 per cent. would be over £1 million a year.