London, July 31, The Minister of Health last night broadcast a speech on the new Gove ernment pensions scheme, under which some 2,000,000 men and women become, for the first time, eligible, on a voluntary basis, for' benetts similar to those enjoyed by persons compulsorily insured under the pres ent Widows, Orphans and Old-age Contribution Pensions scheme, The new scheme is Intended for men and women of small means—shopkeepers, farmers, ministers religion, "dressmakers, "music tea~ chers, ¢te—who are outside the existing' scheme and whose incomes do rot exceed, for men, £400 annually' or, for women, £280, Application forms and explanatory literature were made available yes terday in post offices all over the country, and the Ministry of Health ig making every effort to see that the advantages of the scheme are made known to all who might bene= by iL—Wireless through Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.