§ Mr. Hyndasked the Minister of Pensions whether he is satisfied with the progress that is being made in the setting up of Pensions Appeal Tribunals and the hearing of appeals; whether he is aware of the growing dissatisfaction in the country over the prolonged delays; and how many appeals have now been outstanding for six months or longer.
§ Sir W. WomersleyHaving regard to the man-power difficulties and to the Government's limited undertaking as to the number of tribunals which could be set up, I am satisfied that considerable progress is being made in the hearing of appeals. As regards the last part of the2082W Question, there are slightly over 11,500 appeals which were lodged before 1st August, 1944, on which a Tribunal decision has not been given. Of this number about 4,000 are with the Tribunal and a considerable proportion of them have already been listed for hearing. In 1,800 cases the necessary statements are with the appellants and these appeals should be referred to the Tribunal during the next few weeks. There are 3,600 cases in which the question at issue is between attributability and aggravation and pension is in payment. There remain some 2,000 cases, mostly of comparatively small disablement, where it has not yet been possible to furnish statements to the appellants.