§ 48. Major HORE-BELISHAasked the Prime Minister whether, seeing that broken periods of service are not counted in the Navy and Army towards pensions, but are counted in the Air Force, he will refer this matter to the co-ordinating Committee which is investigating questions affecting the three Services, with a view to allowing the pensioners concerned to receive the full benefit of their service with the Navy or Army, rather than that this should revert to the Treasury?
Mr. GUINNESSNo, Sir. The position was fully explained to the hon. and gallant Member by the Secretary of State for War and the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty in their answers to his questions on this subject of the 15th December last, to which I have nothing to add.
§ Major H0RE-BELISHACan the right hon. Gentleman devise any means of dealing with the matter?
Mr. GUINNESSI am afraid not. With a little ingenuity it is always possible to find discrepancies as between one service and another, and if we wished to level up an expensive discrepancy we should be involved in very heavy expenditure.