§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Prime Minister in how many cases the Department of Health and Social Security has granted war widows' pensions to widows of British service men involved during or after British nuclear test explosions in the 1950s; and in how many of those cases the Ministry of Defence has refused to allow extra families payments normally granted to war widows of British service men similarly involved.
§ The Prime MinisterI regret that this information could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost. Once a claim for a war widow's pension has been decided the Department of Health and Social Security has no reason to retain a record of individual circumstances or causes of death. To attempt to obtain the necessary information would mean examining each individual war widow's pension award since the time of the nuclear tests.