§ 14. Mr. ROBERT MORRISONasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that David Hartery, Tottenham, was disbanded from the Royal Irish Constabulary in February, 1922; that in August last, being unemployed, he applied to have his compensation allowance commuted in. order that he might purchase a small business to earn a living; that between August and December he sent to the Resettlement Department particulars of five businesses, three of which were subsequently withdrawn by the vendors, owing to the delay of the Department in coming to a. decision, and the other two were declared unsuitable; that in December last he found a business which satisfied all the requirements of the Department, and after all arrangements had been made and his pension papers called in he was rejected on medical grounds, although two independent doctors have since certified and that he is in good physical health and free from any ascertainable organic disease; whether he is aware that, as a result of this unexpected decision after the man had been led to believe for five months that his compensation would he commuted if he found a satisfactory business, he is now in debt and for the past two months has been an inmate of Edmonton workhouse; and whether he 1649 will look into this case and allow this man to be medically examined by a medical man who is independent of the Pensions Commutations Board?
The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Bridge-man)With the consent of the House, I will reply to this Question. The answer to the first, second and fourth parts of the Question are in the affirmative; as regards the third part, Mr. Hartery made in all five applications the last of which was approved by the tribunal in December last, but of the four preceding applications only one was withdrawn by the vendor; of the others, the first contained no concrete proposition, the second was withdrawn by Mr. Hartery, while the third was rejected by the tribunal as offering no prospect of success. As regards the fifth part, Mr. Hartery in common with other applicants was informed that commutation was conditional upon his passing a medical examination. This examination is held under the direction of the Pensions Commutation Board who are bound by statute to satisfy themselves in regard to the health of applicants before recommending commutation. Mr. Hartery was examined in the first place by a special independent Medical Referee of high standing, and subsequently by the permanent Medical Officer of the Board. In these circumstances, I cannot see my way to accept the suggestion contained in the last part of the Question. Mr. Hartery, who served for less than two years in the Royal Irish Constabulary, is in receipt of a compensation allowance for life at the rate of £50 14s. per annum, and I regret it is not possible to grant him further financial assistance.