§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what rights of appeal are available to a widow whose pension is withdrawn on the grounds that she is living with a man as his wife(a) if the pension is an ordinary widow's pension and (b) if it is a war widow's pension.
§ Mr. PortilloDecisions on entitlement to national insurance widows' benefits, supplementary benefit or family income supplement, including decisions as to whether a widow is living with a man as his wife, are made by independent adjudication officers. There is a right of appeal against decisions of adjudication officers to an independent social security appeal tribunal. There is also a right of appeal on a point of law against a decision of a social security appeal tribunal to a social security comissioner.
There is no right of appeal open to a widow in receipt of a war widow's pension when the Secretary of State decides that the pension should be withdrawn because she is living with a man as his wife. Instead, she can ask the Secretary of State to review the decision and ask her local war pensions committee to make representations on her behalf.