§ 6. Mr. HANNON (on behalf ofasked the Minister of Pensions the circumstances under which disabled pensioners were originally notified that they were entitled to an alternative pension; is he aware that many of them never know that they had this choice; how many belated appeals have been brought to the notice of the Department: and whether any concessions are made in respect to them if it can be established that the applicant was not aware of the Ministerial Regulations on this point?
Mr. ROBERTSThe Department took all possible steps to give the widest publicity to the alternative pension. Not only were notices circulated in the Press and through local war pensions commit- 560 tees, but each pensioner was individually notified in a special leaflet of his rights and of the steps which he should take to secure them if he wished and was qualified to do so. Very few late appeals have, I understand, been received, but the claim in such cases can only be entertained under the terms of the warrant if it can be shown that, owing to physical incapacity or other cause over which the man had no control, he was unable to prove the amount of his pre-War earnings within the period allowed by the warrant.