3.1  Except for a minor change to enable awards to the surviving civil partners of former Members, there have been no amendments to the legislation governing the Fund since my last report.

  3.2  The amount of Grant in Aid payable from the Exchequer has not changed since the last report and remains at £215,000 a year. Three such payments were made by the Exchequer during the period since the last report.

  3.3  Four new awards of regular payments have been made since the last report, totalling £24,849 a year. These include an award under the 1948 Act to a widow who is already receiving an award under the 1981 Act. Since the last report a number of awards have been made in the form of one-off lump sum gratuities.

  3.4  In March 2005 the Trustees changed the Fund's investment strategy from active investment to passive investment. Legal and General Investment Management were appointed to replace Cazenove Fund Management Ltd as investment managers.