D5& MAJORITY REPORT. for which compensation is payable are unable to obtain com- pensation by reason of the employer or other person responsible being unable to meet his liability, and are at the same time unable, by reason of the disentitling provisions of the National Health Insurance Act, to obtain any benefit from their Approved Societies. The Association suggested that in order to meet the very unsatisfactory position which thus arises, the Act should provide that ‘‘ unless an insured person unreasonably neglects or refuses to enforce his claim, benefit should be payable if compensation is not recovered 629. We have no reason to think that cases of this kind are numerous as they are confined to those in which an insured person has established his title to compensation prior to the employer becoming insolvent. Moreovér, even in such cases, the employed person’s claim to compensation ranks pre- ferentially on the assets of the employer. At the same time, though the cases may be few they involve real hardship, and in our opinion the present position cannot be justified. We, there- fore, recommend that provision should be made whereby in any case where an award of compensation or damages has been made in favour of an insured person, and the payment cannot be recovered by reason of the insolvency of the employer or other person liable, sickness or disablement benefit should then become payable. 630. The only other matter in connexion with workmen's compensation on which we desire to make a recommendation relates to the notification of agreements. On this point we may quote from a question addressed to Sir Walter Kinnear and his reply : ““ Are you satisfied with the present arrangements under which Societies are notified of cases in which their members become entitled to claim compensation under the Work- men’s Compensation Act?—Under the Workmen's Compen- sation Act, 1923, and the Rules of Court made under that Act, Approved Societies are now recognised as interested parties in any agreements for the payment of a lump sum, and arrange- ments have been made for the notification of such agreements by the Registrars of the County Courts to the Approved Society concerned. These arrangements are working well and should enable a Society to receive prompt information of the cases about which it is important that it should know. There is still in force Section 16 (1) (¢) of the Act, which requires the employer or insurance company—in fact it is really the insurance com- pany—to forward a notification to the Ministry or Society where there is an agreement for compensation at less than 15s. a week, or for redemption of a weekly payment by a lump sum. This provision has never been of much use. as out of thousands of cases notified it has not