§ Mr. BARNESasked the Lord Advocate whether his attention has been, called to the case of Mrs. Paul Robello, of Aberdeen, who, after being in receipt of an old age pension throughout 1909, was, on an appeal to the Local Government Board by the succeeding pension officer, declared to be ineligible on the ground that she was married to a foreign subject, a man who has resided in Aberdeen fifty years and was a qualified voter on the Parliamentary and municipal roll; whether he is aware that all the circumstances were known to the committee and the pension officer for the time being when the claim was granted in the first instance; whether he is aware that Mrs. Robello is the daughter of a British soldier who has seen active service, and that she has been resident in Aberdeen all her life; whether he is aware that since the disallowing of the woman's claim she has been called upon to refund the money she has received; whether the section of the Act which states that the decision of a local pension committee on any claim not referred to the central pension authority shall be final and conclusive applies to this case, in view of the woman having been in receipt of the pension for at least twelve months; and whether the decision to discontinue the pension can be reconsidered, or the application for a refunding of the pension already paid withdrawn?
§ The LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. Ure)I am aware of the circumstances alluded to by my hon. Friend, to which my attention has been also called by my hon. Friend the Member for South Aberdeen. The section of the Act to which my hon. Friend refers did not, in my view, apply in this case. The decision to discontinue the pension was, in my judgment, in accordance with the provisions of the Statute. The case is obviously an extremely hard one, and I am informed that in view of Mrs. Robello's poverty the application for repayment of the money already paid will not be pressed.