FINANCIAL AID

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 121, 24 May 1945, Page 9

FINANCIAL AID

SERVICE PERSONNEL

RECORD MONTH'S LOANS

The value of loans granted to exservice men and women in AP^> £632,550, was a record for any month, exceeding the previous highest total, that for March of this year, by almost £8600. This amount brought the total authorised to the end of April to £7,140,124. A review issued "by the Rehabilitation Department states that of this total £6,712,105 has been for ex-servicemen returned from overseas and £3864 for returned servicewomen. Demobilised home service personnal had till the same date been advanced £330,836; merchant seamen, £27,83^, and war widows and their dependants £65.487. ■ . ~ Altogether to the end of last month 11760 ex-service men and women had been assisted financially, including, apart from merchant seamen, 10,622 who had served abroad. The number of ex-service men and woman granted assistance either to build or to buy houses showed a sharp increase during April, there being 306b in this category at the end of the month, 266 more than the figure at the end of March. Those helped to erect new houses numbered 876 on April 30, and 2190 loans had been authorised for the purchase of existing homes. The total amount of advances for these purposes had at that date reached £3,342,923, an increase of £305,473 over the total at the end of March. During April 266 eligible applicants had housing loans authorised, 172 of these being for the purchase of existing dwellings and 94 for the building of new homes. There were included in the above 180 supplementary in-terest-free housing loans authorised during April, representing £27,531. Loans of this nature advanced to the end of April numbered 1465, the value being £237,659. BUSINESS LOANS. A total of 1392 ex-service men and women had been assisted into businesses of their own to April 30, including 1255 men and women who had returned from service overseas, 131 home servicemen, three merchant seamen, and three dependants of deceased servicemen. The amount involved for this purpo?e was -£612,856, the sum authorised during April being £48,002, for 93 returned servicemen, three home servicemen, and one deceased serviceman's dependant. During April 62 returned servicemen and two home servicemen were authorised loans amounting to £240,645 to assist them on to farms. This made the grand total at the end of April 798 ex-servicemen who have been aided to buy or lease farms with loans, totalling . £2,614.787. Of those assisted to that date 771 were ex-servicemen, 24 home servicemen, two merchant seamen, and one dependant of a deceased serviceman.

A further 390 interest-free furniture loans were authorised during* April, involving £36,-211, and including advances for 348 returned men and one returned woman. The total amount authorised to the end of April for the purpose was £545,924, representing advances to 5979 ex-service men and women.

There were also 29 more interestfree loans for tools of trade authorised during April at a cost of £944, bringing the total amount advanced in this manner to £ 13,852 in the assistance of 462 ex-servicemen.