§ Mr. Allan Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many complaints the Scottish Office receives on average per annum from or on behalf of members of the medical and dental professions concerning the present provisions for the purchase of war service years under the National Health Service (Scotland) superannuation scheme.
§ Mr. RifkindSince these provisions were introduced with effect from 1975,
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§ Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Air Force aircraft have been lost by any cause during the past 12 months; and if he will list the types and number of aircraft involved and the number of air crew killed or injured.
§ Mr. PattieDetails of Royal Air Force aircraft lost—that is, missing or damaged beyond repair—and the number of aircrew killed or injured as a result of these accidents during the past 12 months—25 February 1979 to 26 February 1980—are as follows:
some three-quarters of the applicants who have sought credit for war service have satisfied the conditions. No separate record is kept which would show how many of the unsuccessful applicants have subsequently complained, and it would be disproportionately costly to extract this information.
§ Mr. Allan Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on behalf of the medical and dental professions concerning the present provisions for the purchase of war service years under the National Health Service (Scotland) superannuation scheme.
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§ Mr. RifkindSince the provisions were introduced I have had letters from my hon. Friend and other hon. Members on behalf of individual constituents. In addition, the British Medical Association and British Dental Association have sought to widen the scope of the provisions in several ways: for example, by having the emergency medical services accepted as war service; by covering pensioners who died before the operative date of the concession; and by including persons who had transferred between public service pension schemes before war service could be reckoned by their first post-war scheme.
§ Mr. Allan Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has any plans to reconsider the present provisions for the purchase of war service years under the National Health Service (Scotland) superannuation scheme.
§ Mr. RifkindThe present provisions are in line with those applicable in other public service pension schemes and I have no plans to reconsider them. I am, however, considering their extension to cover people who are at present excluded because they have transferred in the past between schemes.