§ Mr. Buchananasked the Minister of Pensions if his attention has been 2240W called to the decision of the Court of Session against the decision of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal, Edinburgh, in the case of Mrs. Bessie Mitchell, widow of R. H. Mitchell, R.A.S.C., who died on 25th September, 1940; and if he will ask the tribunals to review all similar cases in which an adverse decision has been given, with a view to bringing them into agreement with the High Court decision.
§ Sir W. WomersleyIt is quite impossible for me to know whether the Pensions Appeal Tribunals in Scotland have given any decisions which conflict with the ruling of the Court of Session referred to by the hon. Member, and in any event the Act gives me no authority to take the action suggested by him, since it definitely lays down that the decision of the Tribunal is final except in so far as appeal is permitted to the Court of Session. Except as indicated below, this latter appeal is open to any applicant who considers that the decision given by the Tribunal in his case conflicts with, the ruling of the Court of Session. The exception to this general statement concerns cases in which the time limit for appeal to the Court of Session has now expired, but even in these cases the regulations make provision for an extension of the time allowed. I should be bound in general to take objection to departure from prescribed time limits, but I should not seek, in cases of the kind now in question, to oppose an application for leave to appeal on the sole ground of the expiry of the prescribed time limit.
Mr. Astorasked the Attorney-General how many appeals have been decided by the Pensions Appeal Tribunals and how many of these appeals have succeeded.
The Attorney-GeneralUp to 2nd March, 16,008 appeals had been decided by the Pensions Appeal Tribunals in the United Kingdom; of these 4,128 appeals were allowed.