§ Mr. SHORTasked the Minister of Pensions whether the medical boards are composed of permanent officers of the Ministry; if so, the number of officers so employed and their salaries; and, if the boards are composed of medical men drawn from panels of local practitioners, will he state the fees paid for individual examination and the total cost for 1921 for such payments?
§ Major TRYONThe personnel of the medical boards of the Ministry is very largely drawn from local practitioners, who receive the following fees:
£ s. d. Chairmen (for a session of 2½ hours 1 11 6 Specialists 2 2 0 Ordinary members or assessors 1 6 3 Considerable assistance is now given on this work by full-time medical officers of the Ministry, of whom some 200 are liable for this service as part of their duties. The average salaries of these officers is approximately £924 per annum. The total expenditure on payments to sessional members of the boards was, in 1921, £627,795. The corresponding figure for the current year will be more than one-third less, owing to a reduction of the sessional fees payable, and of the number of members of ordinary boards from three to two.