ALLOTMENTS STOPPED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16300, 5 August 1916, Page 9

ALLOTMENTS STOPPED.

MISTAKES RECTIFIED.

EXPLANATION OF POLICY.

NO BREAK IN PAYMENTS.

Ax explanation has been received by the Mayor, Mr. J. H. Gunson, from the Defence Department regarding the three cases before the last meeting of the Patriotic Association's Claims Board, in which payments of allotments from soldiers were stopped from the date of their deaths in action. The letter states that a mistake was made, which ha now been rectified.

The matter was brought under the notice of the Department by Mr. V. J. Lamer on his arrival in" Wellington. anting to the Mayor, Mr. G. C. Rodda officer in charge of the War Expenses Branch, explains in the case of the wife of one of the soldiers, the allotment has not been stopped, but is being remitted regularly to her until a State pension has been granted. In the other two cases, the allotments were stopped on the date of the casualty. They should have been made to the date of notification, and remittances would be sent for the amounts due. #.

Explaining the policy of the Department, Mr. Rodda states that in the case of wives of deceased soldiers the allotment is automatically continued once a month without any break in payment. -I his goes on for 26 weeKs unless a pension is granted in the meantime. In the case of other dependants, a "notice is sent stating that the allotment ceases from the date of the notification of the casualty and advising the allottee, if dependent upon the allotment for support, to apply at once to the local registrar for a pension. If the board cannot grant the pension until further inquiries 'are instituted he communicates with the quartermastergeneral's office, asking that the allotment be continued month by month, until the board is able to come to a decision. As a general rule, the decision of the board is given within a week or two after the receipt of the application. Mr. Rodda added that the continued allotments are treated only as pi ogress payments on account of pensions, so that, except in the case of wives, reliable evidence of dependency must be forthcoming before the i allotment can be continued.