To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the claims for compensation from (a) Ralph Armstrong, (b) Felix Carady and (c) Maisie Prendergast under the scheme for British civilian prisoners of the Japanese put to him by the Association of British Internees on 28th July 2006 have been paid. (112355)

It would not be appropriate to comment publicly on these individual cases. As at January 2007, 134 claims have been paid under the 20-year UK residence criterion introduced last year; 44 are under consideration; but 11 claims are being held following agreement with the association of British Civilian Internees Far East Region (ABCIFER) that claims would not be rejected until we had discussed with the association the way in which the 20-year residency criterion was working and investigated any concerns. When I met with the chairman of ABCIFER on 13 December 2006, he raised a number of concerns which we are investigating, including consulting other Government Departments where required. I expect this work to be resolved shortly and will then both respond to ABCIFER on the issues raised and advise the claimants of the decisions on their claims.