§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the annual cost of making an ex gratia weekly payment of(a) £10, (b) £20, (c) £30, (d) £40 and (e) £50 to pre-1973 war widows; and what that cost would be at current values in each of the next 10 years assuming an annual increase of 10 per cent. in the current annual death rate of such widows.
§ Mr. Peter LloydBased on the latest information available about the number and projected numbers of pre-1973 war widows, which is subject to considerable uncertainty, the estimated gross costs (excluding reductions in entitlement to income-related benefits) rounded to the nearest £1 million are as follows:
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£ million Ex-gratia weekly payment of £10 £20 £30 £40 £50 1989 28 57 85 113 141 1990 26 52 78 104 129 1991 25 49 74 98 123 1992 24 47 71 94 118 1993 22 45 67 89 111 1994 21 42 64 85 106 1995 20 40 60 80 100 1996 19 38 57 76 95
Ex-gratia weekly payment of £10 £20 £30 £40 £50 1997 18 36 54 72 90 1998 17 34 51 68 84 1999 16 32 48 63 79 The estimated projected number of widows on which the costs are based takes into account the mortality rates of war widows.