Class I. (Hansard, 20 November 1928)

§ Captain GARRO-JONES
Before the question is put, may I ask how far it is intended to go with these Votes to-night? I have no desire to obstruct the passage of the Report stage, hut I would like an assurance that no attempt will be made to slip through any portion of the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill as I desire to make a few remarks on the first part of it.

§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Commander Eyres Monsell)
We shall make no attempt to get the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill to-night. We only want to get as far as we can with the Report stage of the Supplementary Estimates.

§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHY
I had handed in a manuscript Amendment to reduce the Vote by £100. The intention of course was to draw attention to certain anomalies which I think account for some of the need for extra expenditure. First of all, I want to draw attention to the fact that in the case of a widow whose husband dies and who, owing to the shock of the death and the funeral arrangements, delays perhaps for a fortnight in making her claim, the money is allowed, not from the date of her husband's death, but only from the date of her claim. I think the unnecessary correspondence accounts for a large amount of this money. When a pension is allowed to a widow I think it should be given from the date when the husband leaves an insured occupation. I do not know what defence the Government offer for this administrative action. I have brought cases to the notice of the Minister of Health where, owing to ignorance of the law a poor woman has delayed her application for weeks quite innocently, and then she is mulcted in this money which she would have drawn if she had been properly advised. There is no justice in this kind of action, and the few hundreds or thousands of pounds which the State saves is bought at the cost of the mean treatment of these poor women.
My second case is that of a widow who has been left badly off and has had to seek parish relief. During the time the State is deciding to give her the pension the parish gives her relief and makes her repay it from the very little money which she receives when the pension is paid. This is a very big question and I hope I shall not he coerced by the Government Whips for stating this case. What 1698 is the actual machinery which entities the Guardians to recover this money not from the woman herself but from the Minister of Health before the arrears are paid over? That is a matter upon which the House should be informed and obviously more clerical assistance is required for this procedure.
My third case is that of a widow who loses her son in the war and she gets a pension of 5s. When she afterwards gets the Old Age pension she loses the 5s. pension. We have had questions about this point in the House, but we have not got any satisfaction from the Minister of Pensions up to the present time. I know the Minister of Pensions is always sympathetic but he tells us that the matter is outside his department. We have another most important case where the widow is entitled to the 10s. pension and gets it and immediately by some machinery the Minister of Health informs the Minister of Pensions and the woman loses the few shillings previously granted to her.