§ 56. Sir T. Beamishasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the percentage increase between 1st November 1969 and 1st October 1973 (a) in a national insurance widow's pension, and (b) for the war widow of a brigadier and of a lieutenant-colonel; how these compare with the percentage increase in the cost of living between those dates; and what is the explanation of any discrepancies.
§ Mr. Dean55 per cent., 35 per cent. and 41 per cent. respectively, compared with a movement of 38.9 per cent. in the Index of Retail Prices. The reason for the differences lies in the fact that rank additions paid with war disablement and war widows' pensions have been frozen since 1946, all ranks receiving the same increase on the occasion of each uprating. The basic war widows' pension has gone up by 55 per cent. over the period in question and it is this increase which has been received by war widows generally regardless of their late husband's rank.