House of Commons Members' Fund Act 1939

1 The House of Commons Members' Fund

(1) For the purpose of enabling grants to be made to persons who have been members of the House of Commons or to their widows or in respect of their orphan children, there shall be established a fund, to be called the House of Commons Members' Fund (hereafter in this Act referred to as " the fund"), which shall be administered by the trustees thereof.

(2) Subject to the provisions of the First Schedule to this Act, the trustees may cause to be made out of the fund such periodical or other payments to or in respect of such persons, being persons who have after the passing of this Act been members of the House of Commons or the widows or orphan children of such persons, as the trustees may, having regard to the financial circumstances of the persons to or in respect of whom the payments are made, and to the resources and commitments of the fund, in their discretion direct.

(3) There shall be deducted from each payment of the salary of a member of the House of Commons payable in respect of any period after the thirtieth day of September nineteen hundred and thirty-nine a sum calculated at the rate of twelve pounds per annum and the sum so deducted shall be paid into the fund.

References in this section to the salary of a member shall be construed as including references to so much of any salary or pension payable under the [1 Edw. 8 & 1 Geo. 6. c. 38.] Ministers of the Crown Act, 1937, or payable otherwise to any person (not being a person to whom a salary is payable under that Act) as a Minister of the Crown, as an Officer of the House of Commons or as an Officer of His Majesty's Household, as is payable in respect of any period during which the person to whom the salary or pension is payable is a member of the House of Commons; and the requirement in this subsection that a deduction shall be made from each payment of the salary of a member shall, in relation to a person to whom the salary of a member is payable but who does not draw any of it, be construed as a requirement that, on each occasion when a payment thereof would have been made if he had drawn it, a sum equal to the deduction which would have been made shall be set aside, and any sum so set aside shall be dealt with as if it were a sum so deducted.

(4) The salary of a member shall not be treated for any of the purposes of the Income Tax Acts as reduced by reason of the provisions of this section or of deductions made pursuant thereto, and a member shall not be entitled to any allowance, deduction or relief, under any provision of those Acts by reason of such deductions, nor shall his income be regarded as thereby diminished.

(5) The trustees of the fund shall be entitled to exemption from income tax in respect of all income derived from the fund or any investment thereof, and any claim to exemption under this subsection shall be made, and any such claim shall be allowed, in the same manner as in the case of the exemption allowed under subsection (5) of section thirty-nine of the [8 & 9 Geo. 5. c. 40.] Income Tax Act, 1918.