§ Major Beamishasked the Minister of Pensions if, when arranging for the payment of the second per capita instalment of the Japanese assets in the United Kingdom, he will consider making the payment to the next-of-kin instead of only to the widows of prisoners of war and civilian internees who died in Japanese hands.
§ Brigadier SmythIn deciding the individuals who should receive a share we had to bear in mind the comparatively small amount of money available for distribution, the very personal nature of the grants and the need to issue the money as quickly as possible. The widening of the scheme to include next of kin, no matter how remote the connection, would have introduced complications as regards both the basis and administration of the scheme.
I know that the Far Eastern Prisoners of War will realise the difficulties of including all dependants. We will, however, carefully consider, in the light of the results of the present distribution, whether it is possible to include certain dependants in addition to widows.