§ Mr. BOWERMANasked the Minister of Health why no reply has been furnished to the letter addressed to the Ministry by District E Sub-Committee on 10th March last inquiring why seven months should have elapsed between the date on which the claim of Thomas Lawrence Eaves, of 22, Milton Grove, N.19, was 1630W received at the Ministry and the date it was received from the Ministry by the pension officer?
§ Mr. GREENWOODThe claim of Mr. Eaves as originally made was based on insurance, but after exhaustive investigation extending over six months it was found that he was not entitled to a pension under the Contributory Pensions Acts and the claim was then passed to the pension officer for consideration of title under the Old Age Pension Acts, 1908–1924. The reason for the delay in answering the inquiry of District E Sub-Committee was due to the fact that while the papers were outside my Department, the part relating to the insurance claim went astray and was not recovered until 10th June when a reply was sent to the letter from the sub-committee. A complete reply could not be made without reference to the missing insurance papers.