HC Deb 27 July 1954 vol 531 cc450-1

1.50 a.m.

Mr. William Whiteley (Blaydon)

I beg to move, That there he appropriated from the sums deducted from the salaries of Members of Parliament under the House of Commons Members' Fund Act, 1939, one-tenth of these deductions in the current year for the purposes of administering the provisions of the House of Commons Members' Fund Act, 1948, Section 4. This Motion has to be confirmed by the House, because it is a separate fund under the 1948 Act and the trustees before that time had not the power to deal with cases of great difficulty. The Act was passed in order that 10 per cent. of the contributions of Members should be set aside for the trustees to deal with these hardship cases. We have now got to the stage when the Public Trustee has informed us that the funds available will only last to 31st October of this year. So it is essential for the trustees to come to the House and ask for further funds to continue the help we give to existing cases and to deal with the new cases which come before us from time to time.

This 10 per cent. will give us about £700 in a year, and that will last for the next 12 months. The present claims upon the fund amount to £630, and we do not say that that is a conclusive figure. Therefore, we are asking for the fund to be replenished in order that we can continue the present grants and provide for any new ones that will arise.