§ Mr. CartwrightTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department's superannuation branch first received a request to transfer pension rights in respect of Miss Claire Johnson from the National Health Service to the Professional Association of Teachers; why it has failed to reply; and when he expects the transfer to be effected.
556W
§ Mr. FreemanNational Health Service superannuation branch first received a request to transfer Miss Johnson's pension rights on 30 August 1988 when the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) wrote. They enclosed a copy of correspondence they had sent to Central Nottinghamshire health authority about the same subject.
No reply, apart from an inquiry of the PAT about their scheme and routine acknowledgements, has yet been sent because the transfer value of the service was not apparently available. The health authority had exceptionally given details of Miss Johnson's final year's salary on 28 April 1988 when giving details about the cessation of her employment. This information was overlooked when the transfer request was received. A standard inquiry was therefore sent to the authority on 23 September 1988. Only when a belated reply was received on 8 May 1989 was attention drawn to the previous information.
Urgent action is being taken to give details of a pension transfer value. Miss Johnson will then have the option of transferring the pension value or leaving it in the National Health Service scheme.