§ Mr. W. J. Brownasked the Minister of Pensions whether he is prepared to allow ex-Service men of the great war who claim to be suffering from disabilities due to war service, but whose applications for pension have been rejected under the seven-years rule, to have their cases considered by newly-created pensions appeal tribunals.
§ Sir W. WomersleyThe Statutory Tribunals set up to deal with appeals arising out of the Great War had jurisdiction to hear appeals where the claim was made and rejected under the Royal Warrant. Claims which could not be so dealt with, because they were not made within the limit of seven years laid down by Parliament, were sympathetically considered by my Department under special authority, and cases presenting difficulty or doubt on a medical issue were referred to an independent medical expert. I regret that I am unable to recommend any modification to these long standing arrangements.