§ 28. Mr. Madelasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied with the existing arrangements for payment of widows' pensions in cases of sudden bereavement; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. DeanYes. My hon. Friend recently referred a case to me where, regrettably, there was delay in making payment, but I am satisfied that this was an isolated occurrence.
§ 34. Mr. Jeffrey Archerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to reduce the time lag between the announcement of the pension increase and its payment.
§ Sir K. JosephA working party under Sir Richard Meyjes, which reviewed the system of payment of social security benefits last year, could find no practical means of securing a significant reduction in the time needed between the announcement of an uprating and its implementation. Now that benefits are increased annually, however, the time lag is no longer the prime factor that it was when pensions were increased only at irregular intervals. Pensioners know now that they will be receiving an increase at approximately yearly intervals.
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§ Sir R. Russellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give an estimate of the saving effected by not granting to retirement pensioners, who live abroad in countries with which the United Kingdom has no reciprocal arrangements, the increases they would have received if they had remained in Great Britain.