§ Mr. Neaveasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he can now state how many widows of policemen and firemen who married after their husbands' retirement from the service receive no pension;
(2) what would be the cost of paying a pension under the Widows' Pension Scheme to surviving widows of firemen and policemen who married after their retirement from the service.
§ Mr. SharplesPrecise figures are not available, but from information provided by the police and fire authorities it is estimated that there are about 2,500 such widows in Great Britain and that the cost of providing pensions would be approximately £500,000 a year.