B—6

War Expenses Account The expenditure from War Expenses Account during 1948-49 was met out of revenue, thus maintaining the policy which has been adopted over the past two years that no further loans for war purposes would be raised. The principal receipts were transfers from the Consolidated Fund, £3,786,000; sale of surplus assets, including German reparations, £1,661,000; and rehabilitation repayments, £1,541,000. The more substantial payments were for Army, £1,661,000, and Air, £168,000 — mainly J Force expenditure; rehabilitation, £4,591,000, and war gratuities, £1,330,000. For the present financial year the principal sources of receipts will be sale of surplus assets, £600,000, and of German Reparation Assets, £lOO,OOO. The final accounts for J Force expenditure have still to be submitted but it appears that the expenditure in respect of the Armed Services from War Expenses Account will be about £450,000. Rehabilitation, estimated at £2,323,000, is the main item of expenditure while the balance of gratuities will probably require £175,000. It is anticipated that the present balance of War Expenses Account, together with the estimated receipts, will meet the demands for the current year. Rehabilitation As at 31st March, 1949, the total number of demobilized servicemen and women was 209,161, an increase of 6,896 on the previous year. Loan authorizations for the year totalled £12,125,000, making an aggregate for the seven years to date of £61,486,000. Of the last mentioned total, £29,813,000 is in respect of housing, £23,610,000 for farm settlement, £4,584,000 for establishment in business, and £3,479,000 for the purchase of v furniture, tools of trade, and miscellaneous loans. Trade training and education schemes continue to meet a steady demand from ex-servicemen desirous of improving their qualifications and employment prospects. To date, trade training has been provided in over 14,000 cases, and over 18,000 ex-servicemen and women have •been assisted in educational courses. As at 31st March, 1949, 6,253 ex-servicemen had been settled on the land with rehabilitation finance. Despite the fact that 939 new applications were received during the year for farm training and settlement, the number of men awaiting settlement was substantially reduced. Housing loans granted to ex-servicemen to date total 25,259 and 10,256 State rental houses have been allocated to ex-servicemen, making a grand total of 35,515 who have been assisted to obtain their own homes.

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