HC Deb 18 October 1939 vol 352 cc859-62
30. Mr. Mathers

asked the Attorney-General whether he is now in a position to make a statement as to the measures to be taken to protect insurance policy holders from loss through their inability to pay premiums owing to war conditions?

29. Lieut.-Colonel Macnamara

asked the Attorney-General whether he is aware of the hardship which has been caused to those whose incomes came from house-property in areas which have been largely evacuated; and what action is being taken in this connection?

32. Mr. Duncan

asked the Attorney-General whether his attention has been called to the many cases in London where, owing to evacuation, rent, rates, and mortgage interest cannot be paid by occupiers of hotels, boarding-houses, and houses let in flats or lodgings; and what proposals he has to make to deal with the situation which affects both local authorities and property owners?

33. Mr. Parker

asked the Attorney-General whether, in the case of life insurance policies taken out before the war, he will take steps to protect the interests of men now serving in the Forces and to secure at least that premiums be returned in the event of death?

The Attorney-General (Sir Donald Somervell)

I propose, if I may, to answer these questions together. They deal with different aspects of the same problem. The various Government Departments concerned are actively, and in close touch with each other, investigating the different kinds of cases of hardship which are arising and considering possible ways of dealing with them. For example, the Board of Trade and the Industrial Assurance Commissioner are getting in touch with the life insurance companies and the industrial assurance companies to see to what extent, if any, it is practicable to meet the difficulties of policy holders who are unable, owing to the war, to keep up their premiums: and in this connection they will consult those best qualified to advise about the position of the policy holders. The difficulties of hotel keepers and boarding-house keepers, and of retail traders, including garage proprietors and others similarly affected, are also being investigated. But the other side of the picture must not be lost sight of. On any question which touches assessment of rates the local authorities must be consulted. The hardships of owners of house property in the evacuated areas, with which one of the questions is concerned, must be taken into account. The problem has to be examined from more than one angle. The alleviation of individual cases of hardship might lead to injustices in other directions. The House will realise from what I have said that I cannot make any prophecy as to how soon the task of examination will be completed and whether any proposals for legislation will result. I would, however, remind the House once again of the protection afforded by the Courts (Emergency Powers) Act, which prevents liabilities being enforced in cases of real hardship.

Mr. Mathers

When the right hon. and learned Gentleman speaks of industrial assurance does he include within that term endowment insurance and is he aware that the attitude of the Government and his answers to questions put by me last week have aroused very great suspicion in the minds of a large number of the people affected?

Sir William Davison

Is the Attorney-General aware that it is now several weeks since he informed me that this matter was receiving the immediate consideration of the Government, and that meanwhile many lodging-house and boarding-house keepers are in a very serious state as the result of having their premises empty while they are compelled to pay rent and rates in respect of them?

The Attorney-General

As I reminded the House in the answer to the first question of this kind those affected and the cases of hardship to which my hon. Friend has referred are protected, as far as enforcement is concerned, by the Courts (Emergency Powers) Act which this House passed recently. I think my answer to the questions to-day shows that there are a large number of related cases which must be considered together, and it would be wrong to consider them singly. With regard to what the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Mathers) said about insurance policies, I do not think that anything I said last week, or certainly anything in my answer to-day, would justify the apprehension to which he referred. In fact, if he looks at my answer to-day he will see that the Departments concerned are considering the position in regard to insurance policies from all aspects to see what is practicable in relation to the points which arose in the question to-day and other questions on the Paper.

Mr. Robert Gibson

Can the right hon. and learned Gentleman say why the provisions in the 1914 Courts (Emergency Powers) Act dealing with industrial insurance premiums, were not reproduced in the 1939 Act?

The Attorney-General

One reason was that, as the hon. and learned Gentleman knows, that only affected insurances where the value was £25 or less. Another is that there has been legislation since that Act dealing with industrial insurance, which would make that form of provision inappropriate. A third reason is that instead of only preventing a policy lapsing without an order from the court, we thought it better to have the investigation on rather wider lines than those which were dealt with in that Act.