BLAND v. THE UNITED KINGDOM
Inadmissible
Gaukur Jörundsson;Nicolas Bratza
The applicant, John Bland, is a United Kingdom national, who was born on 12 April 1940 and lives in Cowling, North Yorkshire. The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows. The applicant applied to the Benefits Agency for a retirement pension, but was informed, by a letter dated 17 May 2000, that the Agency would not consider his claim until four months before his sixty-fifth birthday. At present, women in the United Kingdom become eligible for a State pension at the age of sixty, whereas men are not eligible until sixty five. In their Observations, the Government submitted that the applicant received a total of GBP 236.15 per week in State benefits, including income support, disability living allowance and invalid care allowance. They claimed that the applicant would be in an identical financial position if he were a woman, the only difference being that part of the money paid to him by the State would be paid in the form of retirement pension rather than income support. The applicant has not denied the Government’s account of his income. He claims, however, that if he were in receipt of State pension he would in addition be entitled to other financial benefits, such as a bus pass and discounts in shops, restaurants and hairdressers.