§ Mr. Warrenasked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement about Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the need to pay full pensions against the total time served by temporary and permanent civil servants.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisUnder the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, which came into operation on 1st June 1972, the old distinction between established and unestablished service was abolished for pension purposes and most civil servants then in service became pensionable. Service given before 1st June 1972 continues to reckon, however, only to the extent that it was permitted to reckon under the previous statutory provisions. Under these provisions un-established service preceding establishment, which then conveyed pension-ability, was allowed to reckon only as to one-half if it were served before 14th July 1949.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will give the total costs of pensions to retired 548W civil servants and the number on pension at a date in October 1974 and similar figures for a date in December 1976.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisThe number of pensions in payment to retired civil servants—that is, excluding widows and other dependants—on 30th September 1974 was 221,000 and the annual rate of these pensions was £119 million. The number in payment on 30th September 1976 was 223,600 and the annual rate of these pensions was £203 million. The number will not have increased significantly by December 1976, but the annual rate will have increased to about £230 million as a result of the pension increases payable from 1st December.
§ Mr. Tim Rentonasked the Minister for the Civil Service whether, in the light of the revised and higher inflation figures now quoted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he proposes to make changes in the inflation-proofing of Civil Service pensions for 1976–77.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisAs my right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Privy Seal said in another place on 15th December 1976, the Government will have to look very carefully at indexed pensions. Moreover, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer made it clear in his statement on the same day that he would want to consider the inter-relationships between a range of topics, including pensions, with the TUC and other interested bodies.
§ Mr. Bakerasked the Minister for the Civil Service if he can estimate the expenditure incurred by the Government on sums above pay policy limits in 1975 and 1976 on Civil Service pensions; and whether he will indicate items relating not only to the Civil Service pensioners but to all recipients of inflation-proofed pensions in the public sector.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisThe pay policy limits did not apply to increases in pensions. Had they done so, however, it is estimated that for the Civil Service the annual cost of the increases paid from 1st December 1975 and 1st December 1976 would have been reduced as follows:—
by £8 million if the 1st December 1975 increase had been restricted to a maximum of £6 a week;549Wby £5½ million if the 1st December 1976 increase had been restricted to £4 a week and the minimum of £2.50 a week had been ignored.I regret that detailed information in respect of other schemes for which I have a responsibility is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Bakerasked the Minister for the Civil Service what was the cost of the December 1976 pension increase, respectively, for the Civil Service and for local government and for the other bodies that uprate either because they are obliged to by the Act of 1971 or do so through the custom of following the practice of the Civil Service.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisFor those public service pensions for which I have a responsibility, the cost over a full year of implementing the increases payable from 1st December last is estimated to be £114 million, as follows:—
Civil Service £31 million Local authorities £22 million Armed Forces £22 million Teachers £12 million National Health Service £13 million Police and fire services £10 million Other small schemes £4 million I have no responsibility for schemes in the wider public sector which may follow the 1971 Act.