§ 87. Sir I. Fraserasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what surplus there is in the War Damage Fund for houses, chattels and businesses, respectively.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. William Whiteley)I have been asked to reply. There is no War Damage Fund, and no surplus. Payments already made exceeded receipts by nearly £150 million at the beginning of this 294 financial year, while a sum of several hundred million pounds will have to be met for deferred payments, and outstanding claims. I am circulating a detailed statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the statement:
§ The total contributions and premiums received and the total compensation payments made under the War Damage Act, 1943, up to the 31st Mar, 1946, were:
| — | Receipts. | Payments. |
| £ | £ | |
| Under Part 1 | 190,800,000 | 347,500,000 |
| Under the Business Scheme. | 76,800,000 | 25,500,000 |
| Under the Private Chattels Scheme. | 15,800,000 | 57,600,000 |
| Totals | 283,400,000 | 430,600,000 |
§ The above payments under the Business and Private Chattels Schemes represent advances made on special grounds: the general discharge of payments under these schemes is deferred under the Act until dates to be fixed by the Treasury. Value payments under Part I are similarly deferred, and many cost of works claims are also outstanding where the repairs have not yet been completed. The total of these outstanding liabilities cannot be precisely estimated, but will amount to several hundred million pounds. 1945 was the last year for which contributions and premiums were levied.