Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1740277147

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-132094

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Stationery Office

Year of publication:: 1926

Scope:: XII, 394 S.

Digitisation:: 2020

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter XI. Proposal for dependants' allowances

Collection:: Economics Books

144. MAJORITY REPORT. either the father or the mother would not be justifiable economic- ally, and in particular would tend to absorb a large part, if not the whole of the margin in the women’s contribution for the advantage of the small minority of insured women who are married, and whose claims already impose a heavy burden on the contributions of the whole body of insured women. We think, therefore, that in all cases children should be regarded as dependent upon the father only, and that dependent children’s allowances should not be paid from the mother’s insurance where both she and her husband are insured persons. 322. We think that the case for dependants’ benefits would be reasonably met and that Societies would be relieved of the necessity of making undesirable inquiry into family circum- stances if provision is made on the basis that if the insured man is married 2s. a week is to be added to Sickness Benefit in respect of his wife and 2s. in respect of each child under 14, and if he is a widower, and has dependent children, 2s. is to be added to the weekly sum payable in respect of these children. The addition to disablement benefit would be 1s. a week in each case. 323. With regard to the case of widows with dependent children, we have considered the possibility that in view of our recommendation to grant in the case of widowers an allowance additional to the children’s allowances, a similar concession would be claimed on behalf of insured widows. We think, however, that as the widow will, in virtue of her husband’s insurance, be usually in receipt of a pension under the new Widows’ Pensions Scheme, she has no strong claim on the ground of need to this allowance, while we are averse to making a further addition (for which all insured women must contribute) to the heavy increase of benefit which children’s allowances will represent in the case of a very small class among the women in insurance. In the case of widows, we accordingly suggest that the allowance for dependants should be 2s. a week for each dependent child in the case of sickness benefit and 1s. a week in the case of disablement benefit. 324. In the case of the insured woman whose husband is uninsured, we have come to the conclusion that the principle to which we have already referred, viz., that the husband must be regarded as responsible for the children, must be adhered to, especially as this principle was definitely accepted by Parlia- ment after full discussion on the Widows’, Orphans’ and Old Age Contributory Pensions Bill. We feel, moreover, that it would be inequitable to discriminate between the uninsured and insured husband, and to give the former an advantage over the latter. For these reasons we suggest that where the husband is living and uninsured, dependent children’s allowances should not be paid from the wife’s insurance.

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