So far from being dominated by officials, and from being solely concerned with economy, I would point out that we had at the Ministry a Committee, of which I had the honour of being Chairman, which completed what hon. Members now say we ought to begin to do. Some hon. Members do not realise that this was a complete overhaul of the Pensions Ministry, or that it was complete before they suggested it should be done. They do not realise that the whole spirit of that inquiry, conducted by me on behalf of my right hon. Friend, was that there should be no economy at the expense of the pensioners, but that the entire economy should be made and pushed to the utmost on the cost of administration. Moreover, when we see this year lower Estimates, we must remember that there are various reasons for those reductions, such as children getting beyond the pensionable age, and widows remarrying. About one-fourth of the widows have remarried. There are also reductions through administrative reforms. For instance, the very system which has been criticised, of having areas instead of the old local committees, is estimated in the present year to bring about a reduction in expenditure of £300,000. There are reforms in many other ways which are bringing about reductions in the cost of administration, but during my right hon. Friend's term of office those reforms and economies will never be made at the cost of the pensioners.

It is said that there have been wholesale reductions of pensions, and that there is a new system of cutting down pensions. That is absolutely and totally inaccurate. All that is happening is this: We have medical boards, and we have cases of men who are getting better and of men who are getting worse. Thousands of men are getting increased pensions. You never hear of them; but when there is a case where, as a result of enormous expenditure on the part of the State in the provision of skilled medical attention and so on, it man gets better and his pension is reduced, you hear of it. Never do you hear of the thousands of eases where the pensions have been increased.