Class Iii.

Part of Civil Services and Revenue Departments Supplementary Estimate, 1921–22. – in the House of Commons at on 9 March 1922.

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Photo of Mr Jack Lawson Mr Jack Lawson , Chester-le-Street

I beg to move, to leave out "£5,000," and to insert instead thereof £4,900."

The administration of the Appeal Tribunals is becoming a very serious thing indeed. I do not want to be misunderstood in this matter. These tribunals have not an easy task. I know too much about the difficulty and delicacy of dealing with the pensioners. Those who have to deal with cases on the final appeal have not an easy task in deciding on particular test cases. I do not want it to be understood that I am at all violating the spirit in which this House has dealt with these matters by imparting a party spirit into the question of pensions. The method this House has had of dealing with pensions in the past, whereby by common consent they have been kept out of the arena discussion and free from the party atmosphere, on the whole is a spirit that has done a good deal of good. But, on the other hand, I feel we have arrived at a position, in discussing the results of the work of the Appeal Tribunals, where there is just a danger of everybody's business being nobody's business. When the Appeal Tribunals are rapidly reaching a stage when they are free from criticism from this House, I say advisedly that, under the inspiration of the present spirit of economy, they may be administered in such a way that they run a danger of doing injustice to ex-service men in this country. In dealing with this matter, I think the Attorney-General spoke about the possibility of giving a rehearing to some of those cases. I do not know what he has done in that direction, or whether anything has been decided or not, but I feel that unless something in that direction is done—though I know we cannot discuss the even more urgent matter of bringing Anneal Tribunals under the jurisdiction of this House—unless the Government can do the next best thing, that is, to give a definite guarantee of rehearing, then I feel we are approaching a state when the voluble feeling in the country at the moment will have a very dangerous aspect.

I made a statement when this matter was going through Committee concerning the results of the Newcastle Anneal Tribunal for the past six months. The statement I made then was that the Newcastle Appeal Tribunal had turned down 1,100 cases out of the 1,300 cases dealt with in six months. Out of the 260 widows who went before them, only 25 received pensions. I repeat that I know intimately cases in which gross injustice has been done to the people concerned. Since that time a statement has been made in answer to a question in this House. The hon. Member for Keighley (Sir R. Clough) asked the Minister of Pensions the number of appeals officially rejected by the Appeal Tribunals during the last four periods of three months, and what percentage they formed of the appeals actually heard. The reply was that the number of appeals finally rejected by the Appeal Tribunals for England and Wales and the percentage they represent in the last four periods of three months are, in the first place, from February, 1921, 3,982, making 71.5 per cent, turned down. In the second period we come from very nearly 4,000 to 7,000, a percentage of 72. In the third period we come from 7,000 to 8,000 turned down, a percentage of 72.2; and in the fourth period we come to over 8,000 cases, a percentage of 72.4 turned down. Note the tremendous increase of the cases turned down.

I hold in my hand a letter which represents the kind of case that some of these figures mean in actual experience. Here is a man who served in a certain regiment for a considerable period, and was discharged in 1919 suffering from valvular disease of the heart. He received a small pension up to 1921, and had entered the police force. Finally, after some time he was turned down as being troubled with the heart affection. He was asked to resign from the police. While the Medical Appeal Tribunal finally said that he had ceased to suffer from his heart trouble the police medical officer asked the man to send in his resignation as he was suffering from the very trouble that the Appeal Tribunal said he was not suffering from at all. The man has no pension and is unemployed. I submit that is a kind of thing that is happening up and down the country. I think there is a reason for it, and I wish I was in a position to discuss that reason. I said six months ago here, and I believe it more to-day than I did then, that the fatal flaw in the pension administration was to remove the administration of the pensions from the region of the local sub-committees, from those who themselves had experience and knowledge of the people concerned. What does this decision mean?

There are areas in the country to-day where the people have come to the conclusion that if the Medical Board finally decides against a man and they are asked to go before one or other of these Appeal Tribunals that they will not go as the case is lost before they do go. I do not make that charge lightly. I was in a certain village a month or so ago. There was a man bent almost double. He had been shot in the body in the War. He had a pension for some time. Then it stopped. I said to him: "Why not go before the Appeal Tribunal?" He had been a strong man and had served his country well. He is receiving no pension to-day. A crowd of men standing about told me that he had been one of the strongest men that descended the mine before the War. I sent the Minister of Pensions the case. I think I am rendering a service to this House, and that this House will certainly render a very great service to the ex-service men by taking very definite steps of reducing this Vote in order to get some definite re-arrangement concerning the Appeal Tribunal.

We ought, I feel, to go further so far as the re-hearing is concerned. I feel that while local influence and local knowledge is gone that this House ought insistently to take a stand and get these Appeal Tribunals under the complete control of the Minister of Pensions, and hence, of this House. The right hon. Baronet the Member for the City of London, of whom, to a certain extent, I came to this House an admirer, seems to go about in fear and trembling lest he should be found guilty of showing some signs of sentiment. I think he does himself an injustice. I remember during a Debate on this matter he said he had known of a case where a man had received a pension, and that another man knowing this went and got the pension just the same—