§ Mr. Tom Benyonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) in view of the fact that the £10 Christmas bonus is paid to all pensioners regardless of need, if he will divert the £110 million to improvement of hospital facilities for the old and needy who require cataract and hip operations;
(2) what are the reasons for the payment of a Christmas bonus to retirement pensioners but not to other needy groups such as single-parent families, the handicapped and the deserving poor.
§ Mr. PrenticeThe Christmas bonus is widely welcomed as a modest seasonal boost to the incomes of people who are in general not among those best placed to meet the extra expenses of Christmas. It is paid, not only to retirement and supplementary pensioners, but to invalidity pensioners and their industrial injuries counterparts; widows; people getting invalid care allowance; and disabled people getting attendance allowance or a war disablement pension. My right hon. Friend has no plans to extend its scope; and I am satisfied that it would not be right to introduce legislation to divert it to other purposes.