§ Mr. Alexander Fletcherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he proposes to take following the double payment of the £10 Christmas bonus to some widows; and whether he intends making a public appeal for the overpayment to be returned, on a purely voluntary basis, in fairness to those widows who have already done so.
§ Mr. OrmeThe notices in the Press giving details of the Christmas bonus made it clear that only one payment could be made for each person, and the indications are that, as a result, a good proportion of the overpayments have been refunded.
I would, however, like to take the opportunity of the hon. Member's Question to ask any beneficiary who has received a duplicate payment of the bonus and not returned it to the local social security office to do so.