§ 2. Colonel DAYasked the Minister of Pensions what is the number and amount of fines imposed on disabled men for leaving institutions of the Ministry, without permission, to visit their families at Easter and Whitsuntide this year; whether these fines were deducted from allowances payable to wives and children while the allowances to the men were paid in full; and will he state why it was decided to deduct them from such allowances?
§ Major TRYONThe information asked for in the first part of the question is, I fear, not available. The suggestion conveyed in the second part of the question is entirely contrary to the Regulations of the Ministry, which specifically provide that any fine inflicted shall be recoverable out of the allowances due to the man alone, and not out of those payable under the Royal Warrant to his wife and family, and I am not aware of any departure from this rule.