304.
MINORITY REPORT.
92. Yet Section 107 is a dead letter, and that this is so is
largely due to the fact that membership of Approved Societies
is scattered all over the kingdom instead of being localised, and
that in one street, or indeed in one house, every inhabitant may
belong to a different Society, each with its headquarters entirely
out of reach of the ordinary insured member.
23. This brings us to another essential point laid down by
the framers of the Act. The scheme was to be democratic, controlled
by the insured for the insured. Here again the Act is
almost a dead letter, and we feel that in this case also the constitution
of the Societies renders it inoperative.
24. The statement of our colleagues that most people do not
‘“ maintain that degree of interest in public affairs which good
citizenship postulates ’ is of general philosophic interest, but it
appears to us to have no bearing on the question before us. In
every class of life people are interested in matters which affect
their pockets, and the fact that insured mémbers are not interested
in the management of a scheme which involves deductions from
their wages and accruing benefits, suggests something very wrong
with the machinery. We believe that different results might be
achieved if these Societies came under the control of the Tiocal
Authority. This would limit their numbers to about 150
Societies as against 7,876 existing financial units. The best
officers already trained in Approved Society work would be available
and the varying occupational risks which at present
aggravate inequalities would be modified by territorial grouping.
THE APPROVED SOCIETY SYSTEM.
25. We have reviewed the system of Approved Societies in
order to ascertain on the one hand whether it has fulfilled the
intentions of Parliament, and on the other hand, whether it is
the most effective method of administering a scheme so closely
related to public health in all its phases.
26. With regard to the first part we are definitely of the opinion
that the wide disparity in valuation results was not contemplated
by Parliament, and that the complete lack of any real opportunity
for membership control, affecting over half the insured population,
has rendered almost negligible a feature of the system to which
Parliament attached very great importance.
27. The views adduced that in general the free choice of
Society disposes of any suggestion of hardship upon the members
of Societies with no surplus, does not in our judgment dispose of
the matter. Nor do we agree that this segregation of the insured
population into Societies is an essential part of a scheme which
some witnesses consider embodies a ‘* true insurance principle.’’
28. We are aware that the generous estimate of the liabilities
of the Act which has hitherto formed the actuarial basis. has been
