§ Mr. Galleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the current level of war widows pensions; what improvements have been made in recent years; how these benefits compare with other European countries; and how many widows are currently in receipt of this benefit.
§ Dr. BoysonThe standard war widows pension is £42.70 a week—30 per cent. higher than the National Insurance widows pension. An additional £4.15 a week is payable at age 65 and this is increased to £8.30 a week at age 70. All are free of income tax.
War widows pensions were made entirely free of income tax in 1979 and each year they have been increased in line with other state pensions. A further increase is due later this month.
Meaningful comparisons with the provisions made by other European countries cannot be made because of differences in entitlement conditions and the availability of other forms of social support.
About 70,000 war widows pensions are in payment.