§ 4. Sir GEORGE TOULMINasked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, while a lunatic soldier discharged to pension is receiving treatment in a military or civil institution, any charge can, under the Regulations, be made against him for maintenance or treatment, providing that his disability is due, directly or indirectly, to military service; and, if so, will he state under what Regulation such charges can be made?
§ 19. Mr. PENNEFATHERasked the Pensions Minister whether the care and treatment of a lunatic soldier discharged 173 from the Army is regarded as an obligation of the State; and, if this is not the case at present, if he can assure the House that it shall be so regarded in future and without charge against either the man or his dependants?
§ The MINISTER of PENSIONS (Mr. Barnes)The cost of maintenance in the case of a discharged man under detention in an asylum is chargeable against his pension under the Lunacy Act, 1890, and the Royal Warrant of December, 1914. I have now arranged that a discharged disabled man shall, while in an asylum, be treated on the footing of a private patient, his maintenance being paid for by the State. An extra payment of 3s. 9d. a week is made to the asylum authorities to enable them to provide suitable private clothing and other amenities for the man, and the 2s. 6d. is given to the man himself for personal comforts. Under Article 6 of the new Warrant and Order in Council special provision is made for the maintenance of the family and dependants of a man in an asylum whose disability is due to war service.
§ 6. Mr. HUGH LAWasked the Undersecretary of State for War whether a lunatic soldier who is a single man and without dependants can be retained in the Army and upon the regimental pay roll until he is pronounced by a medical authority incurable; and whether, if the man recovers prior to his discharge, there will be paid to him on his discharge a sum equal to the amount of pay he would have received had treatment not been necessary?
§ Mr. FORSTERDuring the War certain classes of lunatic soldiers defined in an Army Council Instruction—of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy—are retained in the Army. Broadly, those so treated are those whose mental trouble may have been produced by war strain. A soldier so retained is credited with his pay.
§ 17 and 18. Mr. ELLIS GRIFFITHasked the Pensions Minister (l) whether the wife, children or dependants of a discharged lunatic soldier are entitled to twenty-six weeks' payment of separation allowance and at the end of that period pension upon the scale appropriate until the man recovers, or, if he does not recover, upon the same terms 174 as pension is issuable in the case of a deceased soldier; (2) whether he will state if the wife, children or dependants, either Class A or B, of a discharged lunatic soldier receive pension from the date of his discharge; and whether that pension is subject to any deduction for the man's treatment or maintenance in a civil or military institution?
§ Mr. BARNESThe continuance of separation allowance (which is a matter for the Admiralty and the War Office) only obtains in case of death while serving. If a man in discharged as a lunatic his maintenance as a "Service," i.e., private patient, will be undertaken by the Pensions Ministry. As regards his family: if the lunacy is attributable to or aggravated by service his wife will, from the date following the man's discharge from the Service, receive the same allowance as would be granted to her if she had been left a widow, together with allowances for any children; his dependant will similarly be provided for. If the lunacy is not so attributable or aggravated, the gratuity, in most cases a substantial one, which would have been awarded to the man, will be administered by the Ministry in the interests of the man's family under the Lunacy Act of 1890.
§ 5. Mr. H. P. HARRISasked the Undersecretary of State for War whether, in the case of a lunatic soldier discharged to pension and undergoing treatment in a civil institution, medical examination other than by the medical authorities of the institution can be permitted at the instance of the man's parents or dependants; and whether a certificate of such medical examination can be accepted as authoritative to secure the man's discharge to the care of his friends?
§ 16. Mr. HOGGEasked the Pensions Minister whether, in the case of a lunatic soldier discharged to pension and undergoing treatment in a civil institution, medical examination other than by the medical authorities of the institution can be permitted at the instance of the man's parents or dependants; and whether a certificate of such medical examination will be taken into consideration with a view to securing the man's discharge to the care of his friends?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Brace)I would refer the hon. Members to 175 Section 49 of the Lunacy Act, 1890, under which the relatives of a patient in an institution for lunatics may obtain authority from the Commissioners of the Board of Control for his examination by two medical practitioners. The certificates given after such medical examination are always most carefully considered by the Commissioners in connection with the question of discharge.