§ Mr. VINCENT KENNEDYasked the Secretary to the Treasury why a pension was refused to Thomas Dolan, Coracliffe, Glangevlin, county Cavan, P. O. R. No. 2101; and will he in the circumstances, namely, that the local committee know personally that Dolan is by age and means entitled to a pension, direct the Local Government Board to send a valuator to further report on this case?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThomas Dolan's claims for a pension was disallowed by the Local Government Board on appeal on the ground that his means exceeded the statutory limit. He lives with his son on a fairly large, well-stocked and well-tilled farm, which had been assigned by him to the son in 1906 with certain reservations, and altogether the privileges derived there from are greater than £31 10s. As the claim has been decided, the Board have now no power to reopen consideration of the case or to take any further action in the matter.
§ Mr. GUINEYasked the Secretary to the Treasury in how many cases in county Cork of appeals in old age pensions cases have the Local Government Board ordered an inquiry by their inspectors into the circumstances of the applicants; and in how many cases where this inspection was ordered have the pensions been granted?
§ Mr. BIRRELLAs I have already stated, the information is not available, and could not be procured without exhaustive search which would take a considerable time, and its value would be out of all proportion to the labour involved.
Mr. MONTAGUE BARLOWasked the President of the Local Government Board whether the case of Mrs. Goy, of 42, Lower Craven Street, Salford, Manchester, is still under appeal to the appeal committee set up in connection with the National Insurance Act; if the appeal has been decided against Mrs. Goy, will the committee be prepared now to receive fresh evidence to prove that Mrs. Goy was of pensionable age when she made her original application; and, if there is no power under the Act to allow the appeal to be reconsidered and fresh evidence to be tendered, will he consider whether the Act can be amended so as to allow appeals to be reconsidered when fresh evidence as to age is obtainable?
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§ Mr. BURNSI assume that it is intended to refer to an appeal by Mrs. Goy under the Old Age Pensions Act. The appeal, made in February, 1911, by Mrs. Goy, was carefully considered, and the Board upheld the decision of the pension committee. I understand that a fresh claim has recently been made by Mrs. Goy, and that the pension committee allowed the claim as from the 1st instant. No appeal against this decision has been made to the Board. The appeal on the original claim could not now be reopened.