HC Deb 30 June 1988 vol 136 cc305-6W
Mr. Ashton

To ask the Lord President of the Council what estimate he has made to the extra cost to public funds in the event of those Members retiring at the general election in 1987 who were aged between 64 and 69 years being entitled to resettlement grants; and how many Members who retired then were aged between 64 and 69 years.

Mr. Wakeham

The existing arrangements provide that resettlement grants can be paid to Members aged under 65 who leave the House at a general election. At the 1987 general election 27 Members aged 65 to 69 left the House. On the assumption that the level of the resettlement grant payable was that applicable to those aged 55 to 64 years, the additional cost would have been £476,930.

Mr. Ashton

To ask the Lord President of the Council what was the cost to public funds at the 1987 general election of resettlement grants paid to Members(a) who retired or (b) lost their seats; and what would have been the total cost of a resettlement grant based on a payment of one month's salary for each year of completed service.

Mr. Wakeham

At the 1987 general election resettlement grants totalling £702,630 were paid to Members who retired and £372,220 to Members who lost their seats. If these resettlement grants had been payable at the rate of one month's salary for each completed year of service the total cost would have been £1,648,042.

Mr. Ashton

To ask the Lord President of the Council how many Members not retiring but losing their seats at the last general election received less than one month's pay for each year of service.

Mr. Wakeham

Sixteen Members who lost their seats at the 1987 general election received resettlement grants which represented less than one month's salary for each year of service.

Mr. Ashton

To ask the Lord President of the Council how many Members losing their seats at the last election and receiving resettlement grants were aged(a) 40 to 45 years, (b) 45 to 50 years, (c) 50 to 55 years, (d) 55 to 60 years and (e) 60 to 65 years.

Mr. Wakeham

The number of Members in each of the age ranges specified who lost their seats at the 1987 general election and who received a resettlement grant is as follows:

Age Number
40 to under 45 11
45 to under 50 6
50 to under 55 8
55 to under 60 3
60 to under 65 2

Mr. Ashton

To ask the Lord President of the Council what was the cost of the resettlement grants allocated after the 1987 election as a percentage cost of the total Members' salaries from June 1983 to June 1987.

Mr. Wakeham

The cost of resettlement grants paid following the 1987 general election was £1.07 million, which is approximately 2.5 per cent. of £42.55 million, the total of all Members' salaries paid during the 1983–87 Parliament.