§ 39. Sir FRANK SANDERSONasked the Minister of Health whether he will consider simplifying the form of the reports issued by his Department in cases of pensions appeal, in view of the fact that these reports sometimes fill many pages of type, and are couched in technical language, so that it is difficult even for an educated person to follow their meaning and quite impossible for 538 the claimants for whom they are intended to comprehend them at all?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINI presume my hon. Friend refers to the Minister's statement which, in accordance with the References Regulations, is submitted in connection with every appeal. A copy of that statement is forwarded to the claimant but its primary purpose is to set before the referees the reasons for the rejection of the claim. While every effort is used to make the statement as simple as possible, the complete avoidance of the use of technical language, which assumes some knowledge of the provisions of the National Health Insurance and Contributory Pensions Acts, would involve a very considerable increase in the length of the statement.