HC Deb 06 May 1993 vol 224 c247W
Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what savings he expects to make from the abolition of the lump-sum payments to war disablement pensioners with a noise-induced hearing loss assessed at less than 20 per cent;

(2) if he will estimate the number of ex-service personnel with a noise-induced hearing loss of less than 20 per cent. who will no longer be eligible for support following changes to the war disablement pension scheme.

Miss Widdecombe

The assumption underlying the policy decision was that, in 1993–94, some 10,000 people would not qualify under the new rules who would have qualified under the old, resulting in savings of £20 million which have been used to meet the estimated cost of removing completely rank differentials in war disablement pensions from 12 April 1993.

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what number of existing war disablement pensioners will receive uprating of £5 per week; what number will receive the uprating of 84p per week; and what number will receive the intermediate upratings of their pension.

Miss Widdecombe

As a result of the abolition of rank differentials from 12 April 1993, an increase of up to £5 a week has been paid to war disablement pensioners depending on their previous rank and level of disablement; for example, a 100 per cent. disabled ex-private will have received an extra £5 a week, whilst a 40 per cent. disabled ex-sergeant will have received an extra £1.86. About 200,000 pensioners have benefited from this change, the most severely disabled lower ranks getting the most. These increases are additional to the general increase in war pensions of 3.6 per cent. under the normal uprating. Precise detail of the numbers in each of the many categories concerned is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The previously announced increase of 84p per week related to the war disablement pensions of non-commissioned officers only and was subsumed in the increases consequential upon the total abolition of rank differentials.