asked the Minister of National Insurance what steps have been taken by His Majesty's Government to make reciprocal arrangements with the Dominions with a view to ensuring that elderly persons are not disqualified from pensions in this country on the ground that they have been resident in the Dominions.

A preparatory conference of officials, representing the Governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Eire and Southern Rhodesia, with an observer from Burma, sat in London last month to examine the principles on which reciprocity in the field of social insurance might be based. I am glad to say that the conference was able to frame a unanimous report. This will be submitted to the Governments concerned, and will, I hope, provide a basis for the consideration, in due course, of agreements for reciprocity between individual countries whose social service schemes have the necessary common ground for such arrangements.

Will the Minister take every possible step to ensure that any arangement made in this way will be retrospective?

The report has to be considered by all the Governments concerned. I am certain my hon. Friend will agree that we ought to study this report, and that I cannot make any definite promise until agreement has been arrived at by all the Governments.

Can the Minister say whether that agreement applies to persons who become entitled to a pension in this country, and then go to the Dominions?

The whole purpose of this agreement will be to ensure that people who move between these countries will be able, in a way yet to be settled, to take their pension rights with them.