§ 65. Sir Smedley Crookeasked the Minister of Health whether service in His Majesty's forces during the Great War will count towards the continuous period of non-contributory service referred to in Section 12 (6) of the Local Government Superannuation Act, 1937; and, if not, whether he will take such steps as are necessary to ensure that the ex-service men concerned benefit by the concession embodied in Section 12 (3) of the Act?
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health (Mr. Bernays)By virtue of Section 12 (3)of the Act, it is only in the case of a person who left the employment of a local authority to serve in His Majesty's Forces during the late War, that a period of war service can be reckoned as service for the purposes of the Act. What my hon. Friend is referring to is the rarer case of employment, not with a local authority, but with an officer of a local authority, and in such a case the Sub-section does not apply. My right hon. Friend's predecessor consulted with the British Legion as to the terms of the Sub-section, and my right hon. Friend sees no reason for reviewing the conclusion then reached.