§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether, having regard to the size of the payments made to relatives of civilians killed as a result of the disturbances in Londonderry on so-called Bloody Sunday, he is satisfied that there is adequate financial provision for the relatives of members of the security forces killed by terrorists in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. William Rodgers, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 20th December 1974; Vol. 883, c. 621–622], gave the following information:
The widows of members of the Regular Forces killed in Northern Ireland on or after 31st March 1973 as a result of terrorist activities are eligible for awards under the new Forces Attributable Family Pensions Scheme in addition to the war 504W pensions provisions made by the Department of Health and Social Security. Examples are that a widow of a private soldier with four children would get a total pension from the Ministry of Defence and the DHSS of £3,305 a year and a widow of a major with two children would get a total pension of £4,025 a year. In addition, there would be lump sum payments of at least £2,598 for the private soldier's widow and £5,678 for the major's widow.
The widows and dependants of Service men killed as the result of terrorist activity are also eligible to claim compensation under the Criminal Injuries to Persons (Compensation) Act (Northern Ireland 1968), but such awards have to take account of payment of pensions from public funds.
With regard to the dependants of the 13 people who were killed in Londonderry on 30th January 1972, these amounts have been calculated on the common law basis for the assessment of dependency in the event of death.