§ 80. Major BARKERasked the Pensions Minister if disabled soldiers whose appeal against the assessment of their pension award is upheld by the medical referee, and who receive the difference of pay from the local pensions committee, are nevertheless compelled to refund the difference if the opinion of the medical referee is not upheld by the subsequent board; and if he will reconsider the desirability of this method of procedure?
§ Sir J. CRAIGIn the circumstances stated in the first part of the question, advances paid by the local committee are recovered by small instalments from future payments of pension. Committees are instructed to warn applicants on the first issue of advances that this recovery will take place if the opinion of the medical referee is not upheld by the medical board. If the advances were not recovered in these cases, men might be encouraged to put forward frivolous appeals in the hope of finding a medical referee more inclined to take a serious view of their disabilities than the medical board and thus obtaining a temporary increase of pension in the interval before re-examination.