§ Captain BARNETTasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the Regulations of the Air Raid Compensation Committee give free compensation without insurance to owners of property of value not exceeding £500 but to other owners only if the excess value over £500 has been insured under the Government scheme; whether he is aware that the effect of these Regulations is to give full compensation to the person whose house value £500 is destroyed by hostile aircraft and no compensation whatever to the person whose house value £501 is destroyed unless he has paid a premium of one halfpenny in respect of the £l excess; whether these principles have been applied in the case of Miss Tyler's property recently damaged in a London air raid; and whether he will take starts to amend, retrospectively if possible, these Regulations on the ground that their application has proved inequitable?
Sir A. STANLEYThe Government only undertook to pay compensation, irrespective of any question of insurance, to the poorer members of the community. It was necessary to draw the line somewhere, and after careful consideration by a Committee appointed for the purpose, it was decided that uninsured persons should receive compensation if the value of their uninsured property did not exceed £500. The Committee thought that owners of property above that limit might fairly be expected to insure themselves against loss by taking out policies under the Government Insurance Scheme. No formal claim by Miss Tyler can be traced as having been received, and I would suggest that if there is any reasonable doubt as to whether or not the value of her insurable property is in excess of £500, she should supply particulars thereof to the Compensation Committee for consideration.