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MAJORITY REPORT.

SECTION F.—EXTENSION OR ALTERATION OF THE
LIST OF ADDITIONAL: BENEFITS.

591. A list of the additional benefits, one or more of which
may be adopted by a Society in the enjoyment of a disposable
surplus on valuation, is contained in the Third Schedule to the
Act and in the Regulations made under paragraph 14 of that
Schedule. The list comprises, in all, no fewer than 19 different
benefits, and we have had to consider whether additions to the
list are desirable, or whether, on the other hand, any of the
items included in the present list are for any reason unsuitable
or redundant, and might, therefore, with advantage be deleted.
On this subject we have had some interesting evidence from the
Ministry of Health (see App. I, B, 201-219, and Kinnear,
Q. 23,687-23,718). We have already referred in Chapter V
to some of the more important of the present additional benefits
and have indicated to what extent they have been adopted by
Societies. We will now deal with some of the benefits included
in the list which have been adopted by very few Societies or
have not been put into operation at all.

ProroSED REMOVAL FROM PRESENT LIST.

592. No. 1 on the list of additional benefits is *‘ medical treatment
 and attendance for any person dependent upon the labour
of a member.” ' On this, Sir Walter Kinnear said, ** As far as
England is concerned, this benefit has never been adopted by
any Society, and the provision is really one appropriate for
consideration in connexion with the general scope of medical
benefit. Tt is scarcely suitable as an additional benefit. It is
of much greater importance than the question of a mere
additional benefit, and its cost would be much greater than could
possibly be given, as far as I can conceive, by any individual
Society as an additional benefit. I therefore suggest that that
additional benefit should be eliminated * (Q. 23,687). We agree
that an extension of the scope of medical benefit of the kind
contemplated should not be made by way of an additional
benefit out of the surplus funds of certain Societies, and we
would point out, moreover, that, in accordance with Section
75 (5) of the Act, this particular benefit, if adopted by any
Society, would have to be administered, not by the Society
itself, but by the Insurance Committee or other body responsible
for the administration of medical benefit. On the ground of its
impracticability under present conditions, we therefore recommend
 that it should be removed from the list of additional
benefits.
593. No. 3 on the list is ‘‘ an increase of sickness benefit
and disablement benefit in the case either of all members of
the Society, or of such of them as have any children or any
specified number of children, wholly or in part dependent upon