§ Mr. Thompsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many former Far East prisoners of war are known to be living in England and Wales, respectively; how many of these receive pensions for disabilities resulting from injury or illness suffered while in the forces or while prisoners of war; and what provisions are made for the existence and degree of disability to be assessed and for necessary medical treatment and support to be given;
(2) how many former Far East prisoners of war are known to be living in Scotland; how many of these receive pensions for disabilities resulting from injury or illness suffered while in the forces or while prisoners of war; and what provisions are made for the existence and degree of disability to be assessed and for necessary medical treatment and support to be given.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisIt is not known how many former Far East prisoners of war (FEPOWs) are living in the United Kingdom, but it is estimated that about 37,000 FEPOWs came back here at the end of hostilities. War pensions statistics do not differentiate between theatres of war, but it is estimated that, all told, over 6,000 war disablement pensions are in payment to FEPOWs and a further 2,000 to their widows.
There is no time limit for claiming a war disablement pension and awards are based on the loss of faculty suffered, expressed as a percentage assessment, by comparison with a normal healthy person of the same age and sex. Claims from FEPOWs are monitored by a special unit at Norcross staffed by lay and medical personnel with particular knowledge of the problems of these ex-Service men. The services of specialists in tropical diseases are always available to medical boards, if required, and FEPOWs are admitted to a tropical diseases unit for a medical check-up on request.