BRINGING TOGETHER 100 YEARS OF PENSIONS POLICY
 
Has the Government learnt the lessons of yesterday in planning for the 
pensions of tomorrow?  How can the records of the past help form policy for 
the future?  On Wednesday 5 November, eminent historians and politicians 
meet to discuss 100 years of pensions policy in the light of historical records.

The event, hosted jointly by the National Council on Archives and the All-Party 
Parliamentary Group on Archives is part of the Archive Awareness Campaign 
2008, which launches on Wednesday 5 November. Commemorating the 
centenary of the first Old Age Pensions Act, it brings together 
parliamentarians, guests from the archives sector, journalists and pensions 
professionals. They will be joined by an expert panel looking at how the radical 
reform of 100 years ago changed daily life for working people in Britain. The 
panel will also take a critical look at the last 100 years of policy development 
and will give an insight to how archives can help shape future policies. 

The panel will be chaired by Frank Field, who as a Minister in Tony Blair’s first 
government was given the task of “thinking the unthinkable” and pushing 
ahead radical reforms to the welfare state, including pensions provision. He will 
be joined by renowned historian and biographer of Lloyd George, Professor the 
Lord Morgan (Kenneth O Morgan); historian of social policy and Chair of History 
& Policy, Professor Pat Thane and pensions industry expert and Chair of the 
Pensions Archive Trust, Alan Herbert.

Rt Hon Frank Field MP, said:

“At a time when many people are worrying about the value of pensions, it is 
good to reflect on where we have come from, where we are going and how 
the archives of our journey can inform our futures. We need to learn the 
lessons of the past to avoid the nightmare of an even worse pensions crisis in 
years to come”. 

Geoff Pick, Chairman of the National Council on Archives, said:

”The Archive Awareness campaign aims to promote the richness of our nation’s 
archives. Everybody has a piece of history that makes up the wider story of 
our national heritage. This event and the launch of the Archive Awareness 
Campaign 2008 show that archives have something to interest everyone”.

The panel discussion “1908 Old Age Pensions Act & Current Pension Policy – 
How Can Archives Help to Shape the Future” will take place in Committee 
Room 3A, House of Lords 6pm to 7.30pm*.

For further details, spokespeople or images on Archive Awareness Campaign, 
please contact Angela Owusu, Archive Awareness campaign on 0208 392 5237 
or email [log in to unmask]

- Ends -


Notes to Editors

* Entrance for those not familiar with Westminster: via the main public 
entrance, St Stephen’s Entrance

·	Archive Awareness is spearheaded by the National Council on 
Archives (www.ncaonline.org.uk) and funded by The National Archives 
(www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) and the Museums, Libraries and Archives 
Council (www.mla.gov.uk) 

·	Archive Awareness Campaign was originally designed to address the 
issues of under representation of UK archives, especially in comparison with 
the museum, gallery and library sectors. The campaign began with 'Archive 
Awareness Month' in September 2003 and since then has taken place over a 
longer period in the autumn. Visit www.archiveawareness.com for more details. 


·	The 1908 Old Age Pensions Act was one of the biggest reforms to 
affect the lives of ordinary people and Parliamentarians played a crucial part in 
making that history. That radical change still has great resonance today as 
the debate on state pensions continues with the descendants of the 
Parliamentarians at the centre of the 1908 Act themselves playing a part in 
shaping future policy direction.

·	The Viscount Tenby, Grandson of David Lloyd George (the then 
Chancellor of the Exchequer), Baroness Bonham -Carter of Yarnbury, Great-
Grandaughter of Asquith (the then Prime Minster) and the Hon Nicholas 
Soames MP, Grandson of Winston Churchill (the then President of the Board of 
Trade).