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Dept of Social Security;War Pensions Agency

Answer

Mr. Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many prisoners held captive by the Japanese during world war two are eligible for the Government's compensation payment; how many have been awarded payment; and at what cost. [159364] Mr. Bayley: The administration of the ex-gratia compensation scheme for former captives of the Japanese is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of the War Pensions Agency, Alan Burnham. He will write to my hon. Friend. Letter from Alan Burnham to Mr. Alan Hurst, dated 3 May 2001: I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question concerning ex-gratia payments payable to former prisoners of war of the Japanese. We know the total number of UK service personnel who were captured in the Far East during the Second World War but there is no precise way to determine how many survive today. Accordingly it is difficult to provide a precise estimate of the numbers of people eligible for a payment. As at 30 April 2001 a total of 19,717 ex-gratia payments had been made at a total cost of £197,170,000. Of these, 7635 were made to former prisoners of war, 10671 to the surviving spouses of former prisoners of war, 989 to former civilian internees and 422 to the surviving spouses of former civilian internees. Please do not hesitate to contact me again if you require any further information.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

159364; 367 c788W

Session

2000-01

Subjects

Compensation Costs Eligibility Japan Recipients World War II Prisoners of war

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk