§ Mr. Alasdair Mackenzieasked the Minister of Social Security how many people are employed on the subcommittee of the North of Scotland War Pensions Committee which deals with complaints; what payments they receive, including loss of earnings; how many members of the sub-committee have served in the armed forces in time of war; and how many have had no experience in Her Majesty's forces.
§ Mr. LoughlinThe North of Scotland War Pensions Committee has two subcommittees to hear and consider complaints. One sub-committee sits in Inverness and has seven members; the other sits in Stornoway and has six members. Service on these sub-committees is voluntary and unpaid; members may, however, if they wish be reimbursed for their travelling expenses and receive subsistence allowance and compensation for loss of earnings within limits currently in force.
Of the seven members of the Inverness Sub-Committee, six have served in the Armed Forces and of the six members of the Stornoway Sub-Committee, which includes voluntary workers who are not members of the War Pensions Committee, four are known to have done so. We do not have sufficient details of the careers of those who have served in the Armed Forces to say whether they have all so served in time of war, but we do know that the majority of them have.