H—9

The following is a summary of the disabilities from which ex-service personnel of the 1939-45 war were suffering at the time of application for pension :

The War Pensions Board dealt with 65,505 cases during the year ended 31st March, 1948, under the following categories : (1) Claims for pension on account of disablement .. .. .. 2,856 (2) Claims for economic pension .. .. .. .. .. 2,622 (3) Claims for dependant's pension .. .. .. .. .. 1,709 (4) Cases submitted for renewal and review .. .. .. .. 41,062 (5) Cases submitted for reconsideration .. .. .. .. 8,726 (6) Cases where the question of entitlement was considered in respect of personnel discharged from the Forces on medical grounds, but who did not apply for pension .. .. .. .. .. 986 (7) Claims for war veterans' allowances .. .. .. .. 601 (8) Sundry claims and reviews and cases adjourned for further consideration and decision .. .. .. .. .. 6,943 65,505 Following the trend noted last year, there has been a further reduction in new applications for disablement pensions. Current applications are largely in respect of recurrences of war-time illnesses from which recovery had been made, and with disabilities where there is no direct relation to war service. With the presumption of attributability operating in the applicant's favour, it has been possible to deal with these applications expeditiously and with a minimum of inconvenience to applicants.

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Type of Service. Class of Disability or Disease. Overseas. 1 New Zealand. Total. (1) Infections and infestations (2) Nervous system .. .. .. .. (3) Eye, ear, and nose .. .. .. .. (4) Circulatory and blood systems (5) Metabolism (6) Lungs (7) Breast (8) Digestive system (9) Generative system (10) Gunshot wounds and accidental injuries to bones, joints, and soft tissues (11) Skin (12) Areolar tissue (13) Tumours and neoplastic growths (14) Malformations (15) Amputations .. .. .. .. (16) Urinary tract (17) Sundry minor disabilities Application for pension (no disability) 133 256 231 88 19 225 i92 17 426 150 "10 2 10 38 6 101 12 31 32 22 5 45 26 5 99 14 2 3 1 8 1 11 145 287 11024 270 218 22' 525164 12 5 11 46 7 112 1,904 317 2,221