§ Mr. Daggarasked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that an unpaid volunteer under the Civil Defence scheme is entitled, if injured, to payment from the appropriate local authority of an amount as will make good any loss of earnings due to his incapacity for work, subject to the maximum rate of pay for whole-time paid personnel, but the injury allowance granted by the Assistance Board has to be deducted from such an amount, and that until this latter amount is known no payments are made, which procedure entails a delay of some weeks; and will he consider varying the procedure so as to enable the local authority to make the payment immediately, and recover the amount afterwards, from the Assistance Board, which would thus remove temporary hardship in cases where the local authority knows such hardship exists?
§ Sir W. WomersleyArrangements have been made for the prompt notification of the rate of injury allowance to the local authority and this is the first instance I have heard of in which these arrangements have not worked smoothly. If the hon. Member will furnish rue with the particulars of the case that he has in mind I will have the matter investigated at once.
§ Mr. Daggarasked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that a volunteer under the Civil Defence scheme is entitled, if he meets with an accident, to a payment not exceeding £3 5s. per week for two weeks; and will he take the necessary measures to extend the period of two weeks?
§ Mr. MabaneI am glad to be able to inform my hon Friend that action has already been taken to improve the position of members of the Civil Defence Services who are incapacitated byinjuries received on duty. The period during which pay may be continued or compensation paid for loss of wages has been extended to at 2009W least eight weeks and, in certain circumstances, up to thirteen weeks. I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of the circular which has been issued on the subject to local authorities.