§ Mr. Johnstonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) whether he will state the pension awards given to the dependants of the four police officers killed at Rosh Pina, Palestine, on 9th September, 1936;
(2) whether he is aware that Raymond Elliott, a police officer in Palestine, was killed by armed Arabs in September, 1937, and that his widow has been offered a pension of £48 per annum with no pension allowance for her child; and whether he will have this and similar cases reconsidered?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreIn accordance with the Pension Ordinance no award was made in the case of three of the police constables referred to, since none of them left a widow or a mother who was wholly dependent on him for her support. The widow of the fourth constable, Raymond Elliott, has been awarded a pension of £48 a year and a compassionate gratuity of £115 4s. A gratuity of £14 was also awarded to the only child. The amount of the pension payable to the widow of a non-pensionable member of the Palestine Police Force, who dies from injuries received in the course of duty, has recently been doubled and now amounts to one-third of the husband's salary. As at present advised, I see no ground for further revision of the scale.