§ 23 and 24. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Minister of Pensions (1) in view of the decision of the Edinburgh Court of Session on 19th July, 1946, what he now proposes to do about the cases in which, on a basis inconsistent with the principle there enunciated, pensions were refused;
(2) If he is aware of the decision of the Edinburgh Court of Session, on 19th July, 1946, to the effect that predisposition to a disease is not a disease and that unless his Department can prove beyond reasonable doubt that the service conditions of an applicant for a service pension played no part in producing the disease in respect of which the applicant claims, a pension must be awarded to the applicant; and if he will award future pensions on that basis.
§ Mr. Wilfred PalingAs regards cases disallowed by a Pensions Appeal Tribunal before today, I would refer the hon. and learned Member to my reply, of which I am sending him a copy, to the hon. and gallant Member for Edinburgh, West (Lieut.-Commander Clark-Hutchison) on 25th July, 1946. In reconsidering a claim, or in considering a new claim, I shall, of course, give full weight to the recent judgments of the Court of Session in Scotland and the High Court in England.