The Crime of Being Too Old
ILIEctrif Eng, To THE EIDIFFN
From : F. O'Hanlon, J. Clement Jones, T. C. Skellington-Lodge, Professor Paul Streeten and Roger Hill, Nicos E. Devletoglou, Mrs N. Szamuely, Mrs Charles Davy, Ian Woodward, Ronald Hope, Robert Hartman.
SIR,—The old people excluded from national insur- ance by the Labour government of 1946, and refused old age pensions on the grotesque ground that they were too old, have since been regarded by successive governments as outcasts unworthy of consideration. They remain denied all the benefits of the welfare state except medical benefit. The chief excuse ad- vanced for this treatment by Labour spokesmen in recent years was that a Labour government would make adequate provision for these people by a guar- anteed income scheme. In 1963, Mr Crossman pro- mised that the scheme would be put into operation 'immediately we form a government,' and that the income would be paid 'without any kind of means test.'
After two years of gestation, the Government has produced its offspring, which is the same kind of crea- ture as its forebears, but with a different name. The Government has followed the precedent set by the Government in 1946, when it endeavoured to get rid of the odium attached to outdoor relief by changing the name to national assistance. That attempt at de- ception having failed, the creature is now to receive yet another name, while retaining its old character. In a pamphlet of 1963, the Labour party denounced the means test as 'insulting to the old people of this country.' Consequently, the expression 'means test' is excluded from Ministry pamphlet SPI, but the old people are informed that the Ministry 'will need in- formation about your circumstances.' As of old, the applicant is to have the choice either of joining the queue at the local office or of awaiting the visit of the local official, who will submit him to an inter- rogation even more exacting than that hitherto known as the means test.
These old non-pensioners were excluded from in- surance in violation of the Beveridge report which promised that retirement pensions, free from means tests, would be available for all citizens. Requests to join the scheme as voluntary contributors or, alter- natively, to pay a lump sum equal to ten years' con- tributions were rejected.
Although the Labour party is primarily respon- sible for this scandal, the Conservative party is equally to blame for its failure to rectify the situa- tion during its thirteen years of office. During the election campaign, Mr Heath promised that the party would make every effort to obtain pensions for these old people. Mr Airey Neave, Mr Higgins and Dame Irene Ward have made heroic effort, but the leaders of the party have failed utterly to implement that promise. The honour of the party is gravely com- promised. It is the view of our committee that Mr Heath's promise was merely an electioneering stunt, and that both parties are playing for time in the expectation that these old people, whose average age is eighty-five, will soon be dead.
F. O'HANLON Hon Secretary Old Age Non-Pensioners Association 27 Hayling Rise, Worthing
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