§ Sir W. Smithersasked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations whether he is aware of the difficulties being experienced by officers of the late Imperial Services in India in withdrawing the savings due to them from their Provident Funds; and, in view of the fact that this money represents compulsory savings, deducted from serving officers' pay and repayable on retirement, if he will take steps to see that it is repaid without further delay.
§ Mr. P. Noel-BakerI regret that some complaints have reached my Office about the delay in payment of Provident Fund balances of members of the Secretary of State's and analogous Services. The necessity of calculating the amounts due on hundreds of accounts which have matured simultaneously must have imposed a severe burden on the accounts offices concerned; but the United Kingdom High Commissioners in India and Pakistan have been asked to make inquiries and to take what steps they can to ensure that payment shall be made without undue delay. If the hon. Member has any case in mind in which there has been undue delay, and if he will be good enough to let me have particulars, I shall be glad to take it up.