Third Schedule. — (Provisions to Be Substituted in Part I of Second Schedule to National Insurance Act, 1946.)

Part of Orders of the Day — National Insurance Bill – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 24 November 1960.

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Vice-Admiral John Hughes Hallett:

I must start by expressing my regret and apologies to the Committee for not being present at the beginning of the debate, but, unfortunately, the Public Accounts Committee was holding its opening meeting of the Session at that time and I had to attend.

I very much regret not being present, because I had wanted to take part in this debate, on these actual figures, and to mention a particular figure among the Amendments in the name of the hon. Member for Sowerby (Mr. Houghton). I am referring to the proposal to increase the basic pension for a single person from 57s. 6d. to 68s. 6d. I think that I am right in saying that that is the key figure in the whole group of Amendments we are now considering. It would be fair to say that all the others, in a way, stem from that.

I very much regret that I was not able to hear from his own lips how the hon. Member arrived at the figure of 68s. 6d. I understand—I hope that he will correct me if I am wrong—that it was arrived at by adding the average rent payment on National Assistance to the basic National Assistance scale, if we can call it that, or some such formula. I do not deny for a moment that that is one way in which one can arrive at a suitable figure for a basic pension at any given moment of time. Of course it is, but it is fair for us on this side of the Committee to point out that this is quite a new concept coming from the Labour Party.