§ Sir R. Gowerasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he can investigate the complaints of excessive delay in the settlement of claims for damaged houses; whether the War Damage Commission possesses enough staff; and whether he can state the approximate time which should elapse before the claimant secures some indication of the intention of the Commission?
§ Captain CrookshankI do not consider that there has been excessive delay in dealing with war damage claims in view of the very large number of notifications of damage which the War Damage Commission took over from the Inland Revenue Department when it began work. These had to be dealt with alongside the new notifications coming in under the War Damage Act. The Commission has now almost overtaken these very considerable arrears, and the bulk of the claimants have had an indication of the Commission's intention in the issue to them of the claim form appropriate to the apparent degree of damage. The remainder should receive the forms in the course of the next few weeks. Thereafter, the staff will be adequate, so far as at present can be foreseen, for the issue of claim forms immediately on notification of damage. Settlement of claims in Cost of Works cases proceeds as the claim forms arc returned; many have already been paid. I should add that in cases where a value payment is considered appropriate, payment will not normally be made until the end of the war and in the meantime the claim bears interest at 2½ per cent.
§ Captain Pluggeasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware of the growing feeling that the War Damage Commission initiates and protracts correspondence with the object of postponing any financial settlements of war claims; and whether every effort is and will be made to adjust these claims?
§ Captain CrookshankThere are no grounds for the unwarranted suggestion in the Question. The Commission makes every effort to settle claims as rapidly as the circumstances of the case permit.
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§ Sir R. Taskerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that under the War Damage Act the ground landlord is compelled to contribute towards compulsory insurance of a building to restore premises partially or wholly destroyed by enemy action; and what provision has been made to ensure that payments made to the tenant for rebuilding shall be expended for that purpose?
§ Sir K. WoodContributions under Part I of the War Damage Act are not insurance premiums nor are payments necessarily earmarked for the restoration of the damaged property. Payments may be made either for the cost of repair or as compensation for depreciation in the value of the property. Cost-of-works payments are made only when the repairs to the property have actually been carried out. Value payments will be divided among the owners of the proprietary interests, of whom the ground landlord is one, in shares proportionate to the depreciation in the value of their respective interests. Section 7 of the Act empowers the Treasury to give directions in the public interest under which the Commission can require such payments to be expended on re-building. Under Section 6 of the Landlord and Tenant (War Damage) (Amendment) Act, 1941, a tenant who has served an unconditional notice of retention, and is therefore under an obligation to render the land fit, may, if the Commission approve, have a value payment paid to him in respect of the reinstatement of the building, but the application to the Commission must come from the tenant.
§ Captain Pluggeasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the War Damage Commission has received any specific indication of the aggregate amount to date of claims in respect of damage due to enemy action in this country?
§ Sir K. WoodAs a large proportion of the claims on the War Damage Commission will be for the actual cost of making good the war damage, the claims already received do not afford a specific indication of the aggregate amount to date of the potential claims. In any case, it would not be in the public interest to give figures of the estimated amount of damage.