§ 57. Major HORE-BELISHAasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, seeing that children's allowances are stopped, in addition to marriage allowances, when a naval rating refuses to live with his wife, through no fault on the wife's part, and are payable to a guardian other than the wife, whereas it was obviously not the intention of the Regulation so to penalise a mother, who is better qualified to look after her children than 859 any guardian, he will take steps to confer with the other Service Departments concerned with a view to modifying this Regulation?
The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the ADMIRALTY (Mr. Davidson)The matter is not quite so simple as the hon. and gallant Member's question would suggest. Payment of marriage allowance in respect of such children would involve an allotment by the naval rating which he might not be willing to make. The question was discussed in September, 1923, by the Inter-Departmental Committee on Marriage Allowance, but I will look further into the hon. and gallant Member's suggestion, and let him know the result.