§ Mr. WinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when compensation payments will be paid out to those eligible under the scheme for former POWs and their spouses held by the Japanese. [138577]
§ Mr. BayleyWe intend to make these ex-gratia payments as quickly as possible but we do not expect to have everything in place before February. There are good reasons for this. First, the regulations needed to ensure that the ex-gratia payments are disregarded in relation to entitlement to income-related benefits cannot be in place until 1 February, and we want to be absolutely sure that there is no risk of anyone being disadvantaged in the few weeks prior to that date. Second, we need time to set up the payment systems.