§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the abolition of the Christmas bonus for pensioners and beneficiaries represents a saving in public expenditure; and whether the saving in public money has been transferred as an addition to pensions and benefits over and above the index-linked increases required by statute.
§ Mr. O'MalleyThe statute would have required benefits to be increased by early April 1976. They are instead being uprated on 17th November 1975. In the Government's view this is better for pensioners than the payment of a Christmas384W bonus, for which no provision was made in the last White Paper on Public Expenditure (Cmnd. 5679, Table 2.12).