170

MAJORITY REPORT.

INQUIRIES INTO EXCESSIVE SICKNESS.

388. Very high hopes were founded on Section 63 of the Act
of 1911 (Section 107 of the 1924 Act) which deals with excessive
sickness ; but in fact the section has remained a dead letter.
389. We deal in Chapter XIII with the reasons for this, and
offer certain suggestions intended to make more practicable the
aims of the section, even if on a less ambitious scale. So far as
Insurance Committees are concerned, the section would only
have had application in respect of deposit contributors, and the
problem would therefore have been of small magnitude. But in
any case nothing has been done, so that no argument for the
continuance of Insurance Committees can be inferred from the
existence of this provision.

HeALTH PROPAGANDA WORK.

390. Section 50 (1) (b) of the 1924 Act empowers Insurance
Committees to make such provision for the giving of lectures and
the publication of information on questions relating to health
as they may consider desirable. It has, however, appeared in
evidence given before us that only a very restricted use has
been made of this power, owing mainly to lack of funds. (Brock,
Q. 23,976.)
391. We feel that work of this nature may be made of the
greatest possible value in the public efforts to promote health.
But in our view it is open to question whether such work, undertaken
 in the interests of the health of the whole community,
should be financed only from insurance funds. We think that
duties under this head would more appropriately fall within the
province of the local health authority. And our view is reinforced
by the opinion of the official witness of the Ministry of Health,
Mr. Maclachlan, who said: ‘Until quite recently the
powers of local authorities in regard to Public Health propaganda
have been very limited. That defect has been remedied by the
Public Health Act of 1925 which has just passed through Parliament,
 and which gives pretty wide powers to all local authorities
to undertake education and progaganda in relation to the prevention
 and treatment of any disease.” (Q. 24,143.) If our conclusion
 is accepted, it is obvious that still another branch of the
work of the Committees would disappear.

DeposIT CONTRIBUTORS AND NAVY, ARMY AND AIR FORCE
Found MEMBERS.

392. Lastly, we have to consider the work done by the Committees
 in connexion with the cash benefits of deposit contributors
 and members of the Navy, Army and Air Force Insurance
Fund. This is the merest routine (Kinnear and Brocl,
0. 23.981-90). A list of the deposit contributors of the area has