§ 19. Mr. Andrew Bowdenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now set a date for the phasing out of the earnings rule for retirement pensioners.
§ Dr. BoysonAs stated in our manifesto, we intend to abolish the retirement pensioners' earnings rule as soon as we can. How soon will depend on the availability of resources and competing priorities.
§ 39. Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many retirement pensioners are over 85 years of age; and what he expects the total number to be by the end of the century.
408W
§ Mr. Allan Stewart[pursuant to his reply, 18 July 1983, c. 16]: Details of all pupils attending local authority nursery schools and classes from 1975 to 1982 are shown in the following table, comparable information is not available for previous years. The figures are derived from the annual school census returns — September of each year—and the mid-year 3 and 4-year-old population. Education authorities have a discretionary power to provide nursery education and it is for them to determine, within the resources available to them, the level of provision for their areas.
§ Dr. BoysonThe number of retirement pensioners aged 85 and over are as follows:
Men Women Total At 31 March 1983 141,830 485,000 626,830 Estimated at end 1999 300,000 780,000 1,080,000 The estimates for 1999 have been prepared by the Government Actuary's Department and are derived from the latest available population projections.