§ 71. Mr. Bennasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he is aware that persons are accepting family allowance books as security for loans made, and subsequently cashing the vouchers themselves, and are parties to transactions which make social security benefits negotiable; and if he will institute proceedings in such cases.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterThere are only a few of which I have information in the last 18 months. Under Section 10 (1) of the Family Allowances Act, 1945, assignments of or charges on these payments are void, but an attempt to carry out a transaction of this kind is not necessarily of itself an offence. Apart from taking proceedings when appropriate I have power to impound the books, and I will gladly look into any particular case of this deplorable practice which the hon. Member would be good enough to draw to my attention.