§ Mrs. Winifred Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many widows are in the position of Mrs. Carstairs, the subject of correspondence on 16th January and 9th February 1978, reference T 30/1408 Scottish Office Superannuation Division, whose husband was a teacher for 40 years and who, despite that, receives no pension; and what would be the cost of awarding a pension to such widows of an equivalent amount as if their husbands had paid into the scheme.
§ Mr. Harry EwingThere is no record of the number of teachers who chose not to contribute to the Scottish teachers' family benefits scheme operated between786W 1965 and 1972 and who have died leaving widows who are not entitled to a widow's pension under the Scottish teachers' superannuation scheme. As the rate of a widow's pension depends on the service and final salary of the individual teacher, it is not possible to estimate the overall cost of providing widows' pensions in respect of all service prior to 1st April 1972 for which no contributions were paid.