asked the Minister of Pensions (1), whether the order granting the payment of a widow's pension to the extent of one-half the disablement pension of her late husband, if assessed at 40 per cent. or over, in eases where death 'was not wholly or directly attributable to war service, is retrospective; and, if not, whether it will be made so;

(2) whether the Order approving a widow's pension at the maximum rate without any time limit if the pensioner's death is certified as being wholly due to the nature or condition of his pensioned war-service disability is retrospective; if not, what are the reasons for this decision; and, if retrospective, what steps are being taken to inform widows whose applications have already been rejected and who may think their cases are closed

Mr. ROBERTS:

The benefits of the Royal Warrant of the 14th January, 1924, are not limited to cases arising after that date. I am considering how best the provisions of this Warrant can be brought to the notice of widows whose claims to pension had been rejected under the earlier Warrant. I do not anticipate any difficulty in getting into touch with all the cases affected.