§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of requiring that all temporary service in the civil service count in full for pension, as recommended by the Priestley commission in 1956; how many persons would be affected; and at what ranks.
§ Mr. MaplesAn estimate of the cost of allowing unestablished service rendered before 14 July 1949 to reckon in full for civil service pension purposes, including the cost of arrears of pension and increased lump sums, is not available. Information about the number of persons who would be affected and their ranks could only be provided at a disproportionate cost. If only those with such service who qualified for a pension are considered, and no arrears of pension were paid or change made in the basis of calculating lump sum retirement benefits, it was estimated in 1989 that some 100,000 pensioners would benefit at a cost over the next 25 years of the order of £400 million for the civil service alone.