OLD AGE PENSIONS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 234, 26 June 1908, Page 7

OLD AGE PENSIONS.

SLIDING SCALE ADOPTED.

DIFFERENCES AS TO ITS BASIS. LABOUR OPPOSES. BY TELEGRAPH- —PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT., London, Juno 24. In committee on the,- Old Ago Pensions Bill, Viscount Castlereagh ■ (Conservative! member for Maidstone, and son and heir of Lord Londonderry) moved that pensions should not bo paid at a fixed rato of five shillings, but according to moans.

Labour . members energetically opposed this. Mr. Henderson (Chairman of tho Labour party) declared that thousands of trado unionists and members of friendly societies had made provision to tho extent of eleven shillings a week. That ought'to entitlothem to receive pensions of at least four shillings a week. Tho Labour party refused to accept any sliding scalo contemplating a maximum income of from twelve shillings to thirteen shillings.

The principle of a sliding scale found general acceptance in other quarters of tho House, but thero was considerable divergence of opinion respecting the scale itself.

Mr. Lloyd-George, Chancellor of the Exchequer, stated , that a scalo ranging from incomes of ten shillings a week to incomes of fifteen shillings a week;would bo too costly, but that the Government was considering a scale based on incomes between eight shillings and thirteen shillings. He advised the acceptance of .the amendment, as a declaration in favour of a sliding, scale.

Tho Labour party challenged a division.. Tho amendment was carried by 334 to 118.; AMENDMENTS DEFEATED BY BIG MAJORITIES. CONTRIBUTORY PLAN REJECTED. JOINT PENSION AND AGE. LIMIT TO STAND.: I ' '■ ■ CLOSURE ENFORCED. (Kcc. June 26, 0.20 a.m.) . London, June 25. 1 Lord Robert Cecil (member for Marylebone East, .moved an amendment to the Bill raising tho issue of a contributory \ pension scheme. Tho Government opposed the ainendmont, which was' rejected by 346 votes to 86. ' Mr. G., N. Barnes (Labour member for Blackfriars, Glasgow), moved to delete the clause providing that two married or related pensioners, living together, should be paid pensions at a reduced rate, i.0., a joint pension of 7s. 6d. per week, as compared with ss. per week paid to a singlo pensioner. Mr. ■ Barnes denounced such peddling economy. Ho stated that the extra cost resulting, from the deletion of this clauso would not exceed, half a million per annum. Mr. R. M'Kenna, First Lord of tho Admiralty, replied ■to the proposal in unfavourable terms., . • Several Liberal members earnestly appealed to' the Government to give way on this point. : . . The Chancellor of the Exchequor agreed to accept the amendment if it was'understood that members wo.uld . not other amendments that'migh|t, be moved entailing ; additional,'expenditure. ; ' Mr. Austen Chamberlain, on- behalf of the Unionists, promptly repudiated such, a' bargain. . , " v With the assistance of the closure, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Bill were passed, the latter sub silentio.

Members, who wished to reduco the age limit from 70 years to Co years, not being permitted to. speak, challenged a division, but Clause 2 was carried by 341 votes to 124, 0; - ; ' The discussion of Clause 3 is proceeding. ISSUE BETWEEN LABOUR AND THE \ GOVERNMENT. SLIDING SCALES COMPARED.. •The Labour party,. in the-first place, opposes any income limit at all; secondly, if there must be an income limit, it wishes to make the limit as high as possible. The higher the income limit, the greater, of course, the cost of'the pension scheme.'

Many of those who favour an income limit are opposed to a rigid limit, such as the 10s. per week proposed in the first placo by the Government. To meet-this section, tho Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed the other day a sliding scale. Instead of the. rigid limit which gives tho nine shilling a .week man another 55., and which gives tlio eleven shilling a week man nothing, he proposed the following sliding scale: Total Amount of ! Amount.of income and income pension , pension ' per week. , per week. per week. ... 85... .' ss. ■ . .. 13s: ,9s. 4s. . 13s. ' 10s. 3s. . 13s. . lis. 25... 13s: ~l2s. ' . ..- Is. 13s. This represents,receding from the 10s. limit by 2s. each way; dropping a shilling in pension for each shilling in income, and making the total incomo-plus-pension the same for each of the five grades, i.e., 13s. a week. Persons with an income abovo 12s.' a week get no pension; thoso with an income, of-less than Bs. a week, or with no income, get ss. pension. •Compared with the original 10s. limit, the Bs. and 9s. division lose, and tlio lis. and 12s. division (previously excluded) gain. Clearly the Chancellor's sliding scale is based on the original 10s. limit. Labour wishes to raise that limit, and the remark of the chairman of tho party (Mr. Henderson) as to an lit. income being entitled to at lea6t a 4s. pension would seem to indicate that tho minimum sliding scalo that Labour would accept would be as under:, ' ' Total Amount of Amount of incomo and income pension pension per week. per wook. per weok. 10s. 55.. 15s. lis. 4s. 15s. 12s. '. 3s. 15s. 13s. 2s. - 15s. 14s. Is. 15s. Under this scale, tho incomo limit would represent an advance of 2s. a week all round as compared with tho Chancellor's scale. It is ostimated that, out of tho total population of the United Kingdom aged 65 years and upwards, 3G.8 have an. incomo of more than 10s. a Tho age-limit of tho Government's sohemo is 70 years, but no doubt a concession of 2s. a week in the incomo-limit must add something to tho total cost of tho scliome. According to tho cabbgram, the Chancollor declares such a sliding, scalo too costly; and the Labour party equally'repudiates his scalo. Tho House of Commons has adopted the principle of a sliding scalo, but this question of amount of incomo limit on which to base tho scalo has still to bo fought out.

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