§ Sir J. Mellorasked the Secretary of State for Air what steps have been taken to compensate Mrs. T. Hawker, whose home was wrecked by a barrage balloon on 19th March, 1940; and whether he is aware that officials of the Air Ministry instructed Mrs. Hawker not to remove 1012W any of the contents of the house, which have in consequence suffered further damage through exposure?
§ Sir A. SinclairMrs. Hawker's claim for damage to furniture was settled on 15th July and a small claim for incidental expenses is in course of settlement. I have had inquiries made in regard to the instructions to Mrs. Hawker to which my hon. Friend refers but there is no record of any such instructions having been given by the Royal Air Force authorities. I much regret the delay which has occurred in this case. With the help of additional staff, which has now been obtained, I hope that the increasing number of claims will be dealt with more rapidly in future.