§ 39. Mr. Spriggsasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many widows of ex-Service war pensioners who have died away from home in Great Britain have been refused financial assistance to have their late husbands brought home for re-interment.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterThe only application in respect of re-interment known to me is that about which the hon. Member has been in correspondence with my hon. Friend.
§ Mr. SpriggsIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that that is not good enough?
968 Here we have an ex-soldier who came home and was given a 60 per cent. pension. He was unable to work and he died while on his way to Scotland. He was buried in a common grave in the Cockermouth area. Is that the way to treat men who have served their country? This is really shabby treatment and no Government has a right to get away with this. The right hon. Gentleman was asked as a Minister to help to bring this ex-Service man home for reinter-meat so that the widow and her nine children could visit his grave, but only partial assistance was offered. It is not good enough. This widow had not the money to bring her dead husband home. Why is not the Minister prepared to do more about it?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI do not think the hon. Gentleman is being quite fair. The facts of this case, Which I have studied, are that this gentleman unfortunately died away from home and was buried by the local authority, with his widow's consent, in Cumberland. His widow received the National Insurance death grant and, as my hon. Friend the Joint Parliamentary Secretary explained to the hon. Gentleman in a very full letter, there are no powers of which I am aware for the payment under the Royal Warrant of the charge for exhumation and reinterment elsewhere of an ex-Service man. I understand that in this case contact had been made with the voluntary bodies but that they also did not feel that this was an appropriate use for their funds.