3. Mr. TREVELYAN THOMSONasked the Minister of Pension,: whether, in view of the hardships frequently occurring through the operation of the time limit with regard to appeals against final awards, he will appoint a Committee to reconsider the whole matter, particularly the effect the present system has on cases where an ex-service man's condition becomes materially worse or a second disability arises and an Article 9 claim is ruled out because it is alleged that the second disability was considered in the original award?
Mr. ROBERTSCases of the type referred to in which it is found that an award has erroneously been declared final can ordinarily be dealt with under the arrangements for the correction of such errors to which I have referred in previous answers in the House. The operation of final awards, both in regard to this and to other aspects of the system, are being carefully watched, but further 289 experience must be gained of the existing arrangements before it can, in my judgment, be determined whether any further modification of them or any special inquiry is called for.
Mr. THOMSONIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the revised arrangement to which he refers still prevents 75 per cent. of the appeals being reheard; and will he reconsider the matter as early as possible to avoid hardship?
Mr. ROBERTSI shall be very glad if my hon. Friend will give me the information on which that statement is based and I will certainly look into it.
§ Mr. BUCHANANIs ii not 95 per cent. instead of 75 per cent? I have never known of a pensions appeal case being reheard and I am sure I have sent up hundreds.
5. Mr. T. THOMSONasked the Minister of Pensions whether, in view of the hardship which exists in many cases where appeal tribunals have rejected claims, he will allow cases to be reopened when new evidence is available or the disability has increased since the appeal was heard?
§ 7. Mr. STEPHENasked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that there is dissatisfaction owing to appeal tribunal decisions unfavourable to the claims of those making the appeal, especially in the cases of men who are still suffering seriously from their wounds; and when he proposes to introduce legislation to afford an opportunity for such claimants to have a revision of such decisions?
Mr. ROBERTSAs regards cases of disputed title to pension, I have (as I intimated in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Bow and Bromley (Mr. Lansbury) on 29th May last), been enabled to make arrangements whereby all cases in which additional evidence is furnished should be fully considered and a suitable grant made with the assistance of the Treasury if the disability or death is now found, in the light of all the evidence available, to be due to service in the late War. With regard to cases of assessment, arrangements have been made (as I have indicated in the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Rugby on the 8th May last) whereby cases in which 290 an award is found to have been erroneously declared final owing to a serious error of medical fact or judgment can be amended. These arrangements are now in effective operation. I am sending my hon. Friends copies of the answers in both cases.
§ Mr. STEPHENIs there, in the new provision to which the right hon. Gentleman has referred, adequate treatment for these very hard cases?
Mr. ROBERTSAll the evidence which we can gather has been very carefully scrutinised. As to the result of the inquiries, I shall be glad to give my hon. Friend any additional information at a later stage.
§ Mr. LANSBURYIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that when cases go before the appeal tribunal, very often that tribunal refuses to go into new evidence at all on the ground that the appeals are out of date, thus vitiating the new regulation?
Mr. ROBERTSI think the hon. Member is referring to cases of a type rather different from those indicated in the question, but I will look into the point which he has raised.
§ Mr. STEPHENIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that when, for example, a deaf man has gone to the tribunal with no one to assist him in presenting his case, it is impossible to get that case reheard, under this arrangement?
Mr. ROBERTSNo, Sir, no such type of case has yet been brought to my notice. If it were I should certainly take steps to put it right.