HC Deb 02 April 1925 vol 182 cc1482-3
21. Mr. STEPHEN

asked the Minister of Pensions whether the inquiry which has been made during recent months into the financial circumstances of all aged poor persons who were receiving treatment allowances as the dependants of disabled men under treatment was ordered by the Minister of the day; and, if so, what was the date of the Order?

11. Mr. JOHN BAKER

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he can state the average number of poor persons in receipt of allowances as the dependants of disabled men under treatment; now many of these allowances have been reduced as the result of recent special inquiries and the average amount of such reductions; and whether these dependants were given the opportunity to state their case against reduction to the war pension committees before the reductions were enforced?

25. Mr. MONTAGUE

asked the Minister of Pensions in how many cases has the treatment allowances to aged dependants of men in receipt of treatment been reduced; and, seeing that this allowance is based on the amount of separation allowance paid while the men were serving in the Navy, Army, or Air Force, will he state the reason for the reduction, the cost of the inquiry before the reductions were made, and what economy it is anticipated will be effected?

Lieut.-Colonel STANLEY

This answer is also very long. [HON. MEMBERS: "Circulate it!"] I will do so if the hon. Members have no objection. [HON. MEMBERS: "Agreed!"]

Following is the answer:

I presume the reference in these questions is to the grant under Article 6 of the Royal Warrant of temporary allowance to the dependant of an unmarried man during a course of institutional treatment which renders the man unable to support himself and his family. No special review of these allowances has been made. An allowance may, however, under the terms of the Warrant only be granted where the dependant was supported by the man before enlistment, and has been so supported since discharge up to the time the treatment commenced, and the allowance may not exceed such support as has been given, subject to the addition of a bonus of 20 per cent. Investigation is, therefore, from time to time necessary, more especially in those cases where information as to the pre-enlistment circumstances is not available from War Office records, in order to determine what the correct amount of the grant should be. No statistics are kept of the number of temporary allowances to dependants in payment at any one time, but they are comparatively few in number. In these circumstances it is not possible to say in what number of cases allowances at either an increased or reduced amount have been paid.