§ Mr. T. GRIFFITHSasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, when the holder of war savings certificates dies, the next-of-kin, before obtaining the value of the certificates, are required to answer questions as to the amount of the funeral expenses, whether they have been paid, whether the holder left any other property, whether he was a member of any burial club or insurance society, and whether there are any debts against the estate in respect of medical expenses, nursing, etc.; and, if so, will he state under what authority the next-of-kin are required to answer questions of this private character?
Mr. YOUNGWhere a certificate holder dies intestate it would usually be necessary for his legal representatives to go to the expense of obtaining Letters of Administration. In order to avoid this the Savings Certificates Regulations, 1919 (following the Post Office Savings Bank Regulations) allow payments, where the amount involved does not exceed £100, to certain classes of persons, including, for instance, persons who have paid the funeral expenses of the deceased. The questions to which the hon. Member refers are put with a view to enabling a claimant to establish his title without expense. There is frequently more than one next-of-kin, so that a single claimant would not on that ground alone be entitled to the whole estate.