HL Deb 23 June 1994 vol 556 c29WA
Lord Boyd-Carpenter

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether there are any plans to make further improvements to the War Pensions Scheme.

Viscount Astor

We have decided to introduce two improvements which will benefit two groups of war widows. First, from October, we will supplement to UK levels the pensions of New Zealand war widows resident in this country, who are British. They receive the lower New Zealand pension because their husbands served with the independent New Zealand forces and not with those of the UK.

Secondly, and also from October, we will improve the financial position of some Northern Ireland war widows. They are the widows of members of the Ulster Defence Regiment who died in service between 1st April 1974 and 31st March 1980 and whose attributable pension from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is not as much as the special payments made to pre-1973 war widows. We will top up the MoD pension to the level of the pre-1973 payment.