asked the Minister of Pensions whether his attention has been drawn to the large number of local authorities unable to collect rates from members of the Forces; whether, in respect to grants made by the Advisory Committee on War Service Grants to men in the Forces on the grounds of hardship and who have commitments in respect to rates, he will arrange that grants are conditional on men meeting such specific liabilities as rates?

A few local authorities have made representations about this matter. It is the practice, in notifying an award, to intimate that it has been made after taking into account the stated financial obligations, and that failure to discharge the obligations may lead to the reduction or cancellation of the grant.