LOANS TO SERVICEMEN

Evening Star, Issue 25471, 30 April 1945, Page 7

LOANS TO SERVICEMEN

£6,500,000 TO YEAR'S END

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, April 28. To the end of March loans, to exservicemen : and women totalled £6,507.574. said a statement issued by the Rehabilitation Department to-day. This included £6,099,997 to men returned from overseas, £3;766 to returned servicewomen, £316,126 to demobilised home servicemen and women, £26,590 to merchant seamen, and £61,095 to war widows and dependants. Of the 10,910 discharged members of the services who have ben financially assisted, 9,834 have been overseas. The March loans totalled £623,958, the highest figure yet for a single month. There was a marked increase in practically every department of rehabilitation asistance during the month.

By the end of March 2,790 ex-ser-vicemen had been asisted to erect or purchase homes, including 782 new dwellings. • Housing loans totalled £3,037.450, including 309 housing loans granted during March. Interest-free supplementary loans now granted for housing total 1,302. to the value of £213,608.

By. the end of last month 1.259 discharged members of the services had been given busines loans totalling £564.854.

During March. 54 further servicemen, all returned from overseas, were placed on farms, the loans granted totalling £189,150. This brings the grand total to the end of March to 734 servicemen, including 709 returned men, aided to buy farms, with loans totalling £2,374,142. Five thousand five hundred and eighty-nine interest-free furniture loans have now been granted, totalling £509,713. while interest-free loans' for tools of trade have reached 433, total ling £12,908.

Under the 50 per cent, quota system a further 161 ex-servicemen and women were allocated State rental houses and flats during March, making the total number of houses so allocated 2,936.