§ MR. D. A. THOMAS (Merthyr Tydvil)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer if his attention has been drawn to the hardship inflicted on monoglot Welsh-speaking applicants for an old-age pension in districts in Wales where the pension officer has no knowledge of Welsh; whether any request has been made to him on behalf of the Aberdare District Council, the Glamorgan County Council, and other public bodies to receive a deputation on the matter; and what reply, if any, he has made to such request.
§ MR. LLOYD-GEORGEYes, Sir, I have been requested to receive deputations on this subject, but I postponed replying to the request because I was at the time considering how this difficulty might best be met, as I have been fully alive to the hardship in the cases referred to by my hon. friend. I am now causing arrangements to be made to supply pension officers in Wales with the services of interpreters in all cases where such assistance is required to enable the officers to communicate freely with applicants.