§ Mr. D. G. SOMERVILLEasked the Minister of Pensions the terms of the Instructions under which the appeal tribunals were given the right to hear the cases of ex-service men whose time limit for appeal expired on the 6th February, 1924, but who claim to have had no reasonable notice of the fact; how many such cases have been heard; and what, respectively, are the percentages of verdicts favourable to these men, unfavourable, and deferred or undecided?
§ Mr. F. O. ROBERTSI have no authority to determine the powers of the appeal tribunals, which are statutory, but the Instructions issued to the staff of the Ministry in regard to appeals are to the326W effect stated in the reply given by me on the 17th July to the hon. Member for the Eastern Division of Bristol (Mr. Baker), of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy. I understand that up to a recent date about 1,200 appeals, in which, on the information before the Ministry, the appeal was out of time, had been before the appeal tribunals; of these, in 254 cases the tribunal held that they were empowered to determine the appeal on merits.