§ 32. Mr. Piratinasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what are the difficulties in promulgating the Restitution Ordinance in Germany relating to the property taken away from German Jews and anti-Nazis by the former Nazi Government; and how many claims have already been received.
Mr. McNeilAs regards the first part of this Question, I have nothing to add to the reply given to the hon. Member on 25th January. As regards the second part of the Question, by 31st December, 1948, 18,663 claims had been received from persons resident in the British zone and they are being examined. Rather more than half of the large number of claims already processed have been found to relate to property outside the British zone and not therefore in any case subject to the Ordinance to which the hon. Member's Question refers.
§ Mr. PiratinWith regard to the first part of the Question and the first part of the answer, is it not the case that on the last occasion the question came up, all the Minister was able to say was that further revision of the draft Restitution Ordinance had proved necessary and, as I asked what was the difficulty which created the necessity for further revision, can he give an answer?
Mr. McNeilThe answer would be very complex. The type of property for example, for which no instruction has been given, has meant that very careful drafting must take place. But I should add that despite the delay—and I apologise for the delay—examination of the claims is steadily going forward, so that it will be possible to act quite quickly when, in the very near future, the ordinance is agreed upon.