§ Mr. Palmerasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will now arrange for business claims under Part 2 of the War Damage Act, 1943, to be paid, since the delay in payment is causing hardship to many people whose capital was invested in their business and who now need it to live on.
§ Mr. H. WilsonThe position is not yet in my opinion such as to make the general payment of business scheme claims desirable. Advance payments are, however, being freely made under the Act where the applicants satisfy the Board of Trade that the replacement or repair of the goods is expedient in the public interest, or that the payment is required to avoid undue hardship, and £38 million have already been paid out on these grounds. I am prepared to consider 61W sympathetically any cases which can be advanced with good reasons on the grounds stated.