§ 169. Mr. Astorasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will revise the application for an advance payment of compensation to avoid undue hardship, Form W.D.A.1, and reissue the form so as to exclude the whole of sections 9 and 10 contained therein.
§ Mr. BelcherAdvances under Part II of the War Damage Act, 1943, can only be made by the Board of Trade under the conditions laid down in section 85, one of which is that the Board must be satisfied that the payment is necessary to avoid undue hardship. This statutory 349W duty cannot be discharged without making some inquiries as to an applicant's financial position and intentions, but the officers concerned have instructions to act with consideration towards applicants, and steps have already been taken to simplify the Form to which the hon. Member refers by reducing the amount of information required. I will send him a copy of the new Form when it has been printed.