MAJORITY REPORT.

267

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available to the Government Auditor as to the manner in which
the sums are used by the Institutions. As an illustration of the
former type we may instance the United Women’s Benevolent
Association (see Gordon, App. XIII 28, 30; United Women’s
Insurance Society, App. XXIV 22-81), and of the latter type
the outstanding example is the National Insurance Beneficent
Society, a body from whom we received some interesting evidence
(App. XVIII; Q. 8814-9208). This body carries on its work
not only under Section 26 but also as an agent for Societies in
administering treatment benefits under approved schemes of
additional benefits, and has adopted a two-sided constitution the
full purpose of which we are not altogether able to appreciate.
660. We are informed by the Ministry of Health (App. I, B,
229-252 ; Kinnear, (). 843-857, 23,603-23,615) that in 1922 a sum
of £10,000 was paid to charitable institutions by 138 centralised
Societies, and that in 1923 the sum so paid was over £30,000
including a payment by one Society of over £11,500. The
Ministry also informs us that the section is open to objection on
the grounds (1) that it is used by some Societies to provide benefits
 in the nature of additional treatment benefits to members
immediately on transfer from other Societies, and so encourages
unfair competition ; (2) that inasmuch as the contribution contains
 no margin for payments of this nature, the financial
stability of Societies may be endangered; and (3) that it is a
violation of the spirit of the provision that additional benefits
shall not be distributed among members other than those
entitled thereto by statute. It was therefore suggested to us that
the section should be repealed and that payments to charitable
institutions should not be made except out of surplus funds. The
Scottish Board of Health, on the other hand, maintain
(Leishman, Q. 24,248-24,293) that so far as Scotland is concerned
 the section has been cautiously and reasonably used, and
suggest that it should be retained in its present form. The
Ancient Order of Foresters informed us ((). 4267) that the section
was useful in the early days of the Act, but that in view of the
almost universal provision of additional benefits it has outlived its
usefulness. The National Association of Ttade Union Approved
Societies (App. XCII, 116; Q. 22,053-22,054) contend that the
section permits of abuse and encourages unsound competition
between Societies. They suggest that it should be amended so
as to make subscriptions or donations over a certain prescribed
sum per head of the membership in any year subject to the
consent of the Central Departments. Mr. Middleton, giving
evidence on behalf of the National Insurance Audit Department,
informed us (App. CI. 33-38) that °° the section, in express
terms, confers absolute discretion upon the Society in the matter
of amount of such subscriptions, and an auditor is therefore precluded
 from criticising the amount of the payments made under
these powers, provided always that the payments appear to be