§ Mrs. Shirley Williamsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what grounds prison officers can be compelled to retire before they reach normal pensionable age without any compensation and without entitlement to unemployment benefit.
§ Mr. WhitelawThe retirement age for members of the prison officers class is 55, after which age, in present circumstances, they may continue in service—subject to continuing good health and efficiency—only until they reach the normal Civil Service retirement age of 60. At any time between those ages a man may be called upon to retire at the discretion of the Department if he is not deemed to be giving satisfactory service, but in that event he qualifies for payment of any lump sum and pension which may be due to him under the principal Civil Service pension scheme according to his length of service.
His entitlement to unemployment benefit on retirement at any stage of this process will be governed by the normal rules applied by the Department of Health and Social Security in such cases.