§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will commission an independent academic research project to make an objective comparison of the differences in state pension provision within the member states of the European Community; and if he will make a statement.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe Department has already commissioned independent academic research from the social policy research unit (SPRU), University of York, into the relative incomes and living standards of the elderly in an international comparative perspective. The study will examine data on the relative incomes of the elderly in a wide range of countries, including some EC member states.