§ 9. Mr. WINDSORasked the Minister of Pensions whether, seeing that in the Supplementary Vote for that Ministry provision was made for an additional sum of £920, 000 in respect of the payment of 'treatment allowances in excess of pension, he can state why there is a reduction in the Estimates for the year 1924-25 of £1, 140, 500 in the provision for treatment and treatment allowances, of which sum practically £500, 000 is in respect of allowances in excess of pension; and whether any instructions have been issued to the medical officers of the Ministry that they should as far as possible reduce the number of cases in which alowances should be paid even though the pensioner may be totally disabled, temporarily, as the result of his war disability?
§ Major TRYONIf the hon. Member will refer to the Supplementary Estimate for my Department he will see that of the £920, 000 mentioned in the first part of the question only £430, 000 was in respect of treatment allowances. The reduction in the Estimates for the cost of treatment during the present financial year anticipates a continuance of the decline in our requirements for treatment which has been a normal feature of pensions expenditure for several years past. No change has been made in the conditions of eligibility for treatment allowances, and no instructions in the sense suggested by the hon. Member have been issued.