War Damage
18.
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the cost of making good the damage caused to public and private interests in the Channel Islands by German occupation; and what steps are being taken towards obtaining reparations there for from Germany.
The damage to and loss of public and private property is estimated at just under £6,500,000. This figure is included in the United Kingdom claim now being discussed at the Conference on Reparations in Paris.
22.
asked the Secretary of. State for the Home Department for what amount Guernsey has sent in claims for reparations from Germany, and on what grounds; and is His Majesty's Government forwarding the claims to the Reparations Conference now sitting in Paris.
A figure of £8,351,000 in respect of Guernsey has been included in the United Kingdom claim and was compiled on the basis prescribed for such claims. The United Kingdom claim, together with the claims of other Allies is now being discussed at the Reparations Conference in Paris.
Does the right hon. Gentleman's answer mean that His. Majesty's Government have given the fullest possible support to the claims put forward?
The Channel Islands are an integral part of His Majesty's Dominions and, having accepted their figures, we shall press them equally with all the other claims that it is our duty to bring before the Commission.
Can the right hon. Gentleman explain how it is that Guernsey has sent in a claim for over £8,000,000, when just now the right hon. Gentleman said that the claims in respect of. all the Channel Islands came to £6,500,000?
The figure of £6,500,000 was a strictly limited claim. The item which was mentioned was for wider interests than those covered by the statistics asked for in the Question by the hon. and gallant Member for Chichester (Lieut.-Commander Joynson-Hicks).
Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether this figure includes compensation for wages lost by British nationals who were interned in enemy occupied countries, such as Belgium?
It certainly includes claims for loss of manpower. If it is desired that more detailed information should be given, the question should be put on the Paper.
Does that mean a claim of £14,500,000 all in, or is there more to come?
No, Sir The £6,500,000 which I mentioned in reply to the hon. and gallant Member for Chichester is a part of the claim. Undoubtedly, the whole figure is greater than £8,000,000, but if hon. Members want to know what the total figure is I will be willing to supply the answer if a Question is put down.
Repatriated Internees (Medical Treatment)
36.
asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that repatriated civilian internees from the Far East are unable to get free medical treatment in the Channel Islands in the same way that they can in Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and whether he will now make arrangements for these people to enjoy the same privileges.
I understand from my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary that the Island authorities are prepared to accord to such persons the same privileges as are accorded in the United Kingdom, and application should be made to the medical officer of health in Jersey or Guernsey.
While thanking my right hon. Friend very much for his answer and for what he has already done, may I ask whether he cannot do the same thing in Eire, from which country men have to come to England for free treatment?
I think that matter is outside the scope of the Question.
Hotel Visitors (Registration)
24.
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why it is necessary, five months after the conclusion of hostilities, to require visitors to hotels to record particulars about themselves on "forms; and whether the practice can now be discontinued.
I would refer the hon. Member to my reply on 10th October to a similar Question by the hon. and gallant Member for Altrincham (Colonel Erroll).
May I ask what steps have been taken to inform the hotels of the present position?
The question of the revised requirements is now being considered in my Department, and I hope to be able to make a statement that can be issued to all concerned at an early date.
Will the right hon. Gentleman consult with the hotel interests before final arrangements are made, in view of future tourist business?
I will see that all the appropriate interests are invited to submit their views.
Civil Defence (Deferred Pay And Gratuities)
21.
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when former Civil Defence personnel will get their deferred pay and gratuities.
Arrangements for the payment of these credits through the Post Office Savings Bank arc now in active operation, but my hon. Friend will realise that the necessary calculations throw a considerable strain upon the local authorities and that some time must elapse before all cases can be settled.
Welsh Church Commissioners
25.
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the present duties of the Welsh Church Commissioners; and what is the amount paid in salaries and expenses at present to each commissioner.
The duties of the Welsh Church Commissioners are those laid down in the Welsh Church Acts, 1914 to 1945. At the present time the Commissioners are mainly engaged in transferring to the beneficiaries under the Acts the properties which they are entitled to receive. Two of the Commissioners receive salaries of £1,000 and £500 respectively, and travelling and subsistence allowances at Civil Service rates. The third Commissioner—the hon. Lady the Member for Anglesey (Lady Megan Lloyd-George) —is unpaid.
Pensions And Grants
asked the Minister of Pensions whether, in issuing Notices of Decision to claimants giving them the right to appeal on a pre scribed form, he will enclose copies of the form, thereby saving time and postage for the claimant and his own Department.
The proportion of appeals against the decision of my Department would not justify the adoption of the hon. and gallant Member's proposal, which would involve the sending of other documents as well as the appeal form.
27.
asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that Mr. William Donn, M.B.E., of 14, Chapel Street, Hun- wick, County Durham, having served all through the war in the Merchant Navy and obtained the Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1941, the Lloyds War Medal for bravery and the two Stars, has been six weeks in the E.M.S. Hospital, Bishop Auckland, for treatment and now he is only able to do light work; that this man receives no pension or war gratuity; and will he take steps to assist this deserving case.
Mr. Donn has made no application to my Department, but arrangements have been made to initiate a claim to pension, and Mr. Donn was medically examined yesterday. I understand from my right hon. Friend the Minister of War Transport that, as was explained in a reply by my right hon. Friend to the hon. and gallant Member for Aston (Major Wyatt) on 15th October, war gratuities are not payable to members of the Merchant Navy.
Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this man has a wife and three children, that he has tried everywhere for light work, which is not available, and that the only gratitude which seems to be available for persons like this is that they must sign on at the employment exchange?
The medical board has been operating; we are expecting a report, and we shall take action accordingly.
28.
asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have paid stipends accumulated during the German occupation to incumbents in Jersey, plus 2½ per cent. compound interest; and why war pensioners have not been given the same treatment.
I am not aware of the action taken by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, but the procedure followed by my Department accords with the normal Government practice.
Will the Minister consider dealing with these war pensioners with the same justice and generosity as have been displayed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners?
I am informed that, so far as Jersey is concerned, the pensions of widows and disabled men who continued to reside in Jersey were continued in payment throughout the German occupation, by the Stales of Jersey.
Is the Minister not aware that interest was paid on all the accumulated stipends of incumbents in Jersey but it has not been paid on the accumulated pensions of war pensioners?
Is the Minister aware that parsons of all denominations, both in Jersey and elsewhere, are most inadequately paid? Do they not deserve all they can get?
29.
asked the Minister of Pensions why there is so long a delay in paying education grants; and will he take steps to ensure that these routine payments are made within seven days.
The recurring payment of an education grant is normally made within about the period mentioned by the hon. Member. A change in the circumstances of the parent may occasionally involve investigation and modification of the grant either up or down. I am looking into the two cases which the hon. Member has brought to my notice and I will write to him shortly.