MAJORITY REPORT.

various other types of less importance numerically. Of these
latter, Societies promoted by employers may be cited as a group
which presents features distinguishing them in certain respects
from other Societies. This division of the insured population
into self-contained units is a fundamental feature of the present
Scheme and it leads to remarkable consequences, both of a
financial and of a social nature. The surpluses built up vary
over a very wide range owing to the diversity of sickness and
maternity experience in the different Societies, and the scales
of additional benefits which can be provided are correspondingly
varied. To this feature, which we regard as one of the central
problems before us, we hall devote considerable attention in
Chapter IX of our Report.
18. The accounts of Approved Societies and Insurance Committees
 are audited by the National Insurance Audit Department,
which is a Department under the Treasury. A full statement
as to the methods and results of these audits will be found in
Appendix CI.