NEARLY £4,500,000

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 125, 23 November 1944, Page 9

NEARLY £4,500,000

LOANS TO SERVICEMEN

HOWIES, BUSINESSES, FARMS afforded to ex-servicemen by K«nabilitaU€Mi Board amounted to £.4,447,653 up to October 31, 1944, according to figures released by the Minister of Rehabilitation (Mr. Skinner), mis sum was divided among 7678 exservice men and women. The total aujnerised during October alone was ;fcvJ94,581, lent to 663 applicants.

During October 39 returned men and two home servicemen were advanced l°^ nf }° purchase farms amounting to ±.144,665. The grand total up to the <?Jr October assisted in that way was 565, comprising 544 returned men, io home servicemen, two merchant seamen, and one dependant The loans authorised to that date amoounted to K>l./01,112.

• total of £1,915,714 was advanced to 1805 ex-service men and women for the erection and purchase of homes, comprising 422 loans for the erection o| new houses at a cost of £555.449. and ldod loans for the purchase of existing dwellings at a cost of £1,360.265. In October alone £82.732 was advanced to 61. applicants for the erection of houses, and £93,195 was lent to 94 applicants for the purchase of dwellings. Eleven home servicemen and four war widows and dependants are included m the month's figures.

BUSINESSES ESTABLISHED.

In October 79 returned men and 11 home servicemen were lent a total of £39,373 to establish businesses. Since the scheme began, up to the end of last month, a total of 894, comprising <87 returned from overseas, 102 home servicemen, three merchant seamen, and two war widows and dependants were advanced £368,384 for this purpose.

Interest-free furniture loans last month numbered 343, totalling £31,459. The total to the end of October came to £369,970. advanced to 4070 applicants.

So far, 314 ex-service men and women have been lent a total of £9266 with which to buy tools of trade, 30 of these loans, amounting to £792. being made during October. Altogether 30 miscellaneous loans have been made, amounting 'to £3213, of which four were advanced last month at a cost of £365.

The residential and farm settlement figures given include interest-free supplementary loans made to bridge the gap betwen normal md present-day lending values. These supplementary loans do not need to be repaid while the propetry remains in the possession of the ex-serviceman or his dependants. Under this heading, 595 applicants were advanced £95.124 in cases of residential loans and 16 applicants received £3380 as part of their loans to purchase farms. In October alone 117 supplementary loans were advanced at a cost of £20.782.