For the purpose of enabling grants to be made to persons who have been members of the House of Commons or to their widows F3or widowers 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.

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 F3or widowers 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.

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 F1C2twenty-four 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 Ministers of the M1Crown 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.

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