MAJORITY REPORT. 245 TEESE penalty in respect of arrears due to genuine inability to obtain employment. PROPOSED ADDITIONS TO PRESENT LIST. 599. Coming now to the question of additions to be made to the present list, we have been informed by several witnesses that there is a pressing demand for the inclusion of payments for massage and electrical treatment as an additional benefit, and we have received evidence which convinces us that the provision of this benefit would materially assist in the promotion of earlier recovery in the case of persons suffering from certain types of incapacity. We would refer particularly to the evidence given before us by Dr. Smith Whitaker (Q. 23,973), and that given on behalf of the Chartered Society of Massage and Medical Gymnastics (App. LXVIL; Q. 18,437-18,518). We recommend, therefore, that this benefit should be added to the list. 600 Finally, we think it desirable that the whole of the permissible additional benefits, as amended in accordance with our suggestions above, and including those at present prescribed by Regulation, should be included in the Act itself. SECTION G.—LIMITATION ON INCREASES IN CASH BENEFITS. 601. It was suggested to us by several witnesses, most of whom appeared on behalf of Friendly Societies, that a limit should be placed by Statute upon the amount of the cash increases which an Approved Society should be allowed to provide under a scheme of additional benefits. Thus, the Hearts of Oak Benefit Society (App. 1V, 144-157; Q. 3313-3331, 3349-3361, 3367) emphasised the greater relative importance to public health of additional benefits in the nature of treatment, and suggested that no Society should be allowed to apply more than 50 per cent. of a disposable surplus to increases of the normal rates of cash benefits. They are also of the opinion that *‘ the insured population as a whole do not fully realise or appreciate the granting of additional cash benefits,” and they add that we have reason to believe that whether an insured person receives the statutory benefit of 15s., or the sum of, say, 18s. (including additional benefit of 3s.), the recipient is of the opinion that he is only receiving the normal benefit of the Act, and not any additional benefit for which he has not been called upon to pay a corresponding additional con- tributicn.”” The Ancient Order of Foresters (App. V, 50-53; Q. 4153-4156, 4265-4266, 4271-4273, 4310-4316) also refer to the importance of treatment benefits from the preventive standpoint, and suggest that a reasonable proportion of surplus should be devoted to such benefits by each Society, and that a definite limit should be imposed on the extent to which additional cash benefits may be granted. They also express the view that any considerable Eira