MINORITY REPORT. 
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Benefit Claims in its findings (para. 34) recommended °° that a 
new benefit should be created payable to a pregnant woman in 
respect of the last four weeks of pregnancy whether she is in- 
capacitated or not, and that payment should be made to a 
pregnant woman who is incapacitated from following her occupa- 
tion in the month previous to the last month, whether she is 
incapacitated by pregnancy alone, or by pregnancy accompanied 
by some other condition.” 
111. It was suggested by the National Association of Trade 
Union Approved Societies (Q. 22,084) that ‘‘ there are great 
numbers in Class K, indeed in all classes, who cannot appreciate 
their rights under the Act, otherwise the number of claims would 
be much greater than they are,” and Sir Walter Kinnear 
expressed surprise at the low percentage of women who claimed 
sickness benefit in Class K, and was of opinion that they were 
** not aware in the early stages that they are entitled to sicknesss 
benefit »’ (Q. 24,228.) 
112. We submit that the evidence on the subject of the varying 
practice in the payment of sickness claims during pregnancy 
amongst Approved Societies, submitted by the Standing Joint 
Committee of Industrial Women’s Organisations is of particular 
value inasmuch as it may be considered to be the evidence of 
insured persons themselves. 
‘* They have got more knowledge of it than they used to 
have, but there is real chaos on the subject. It is not only 
the insured women but if is the Societies and the doctors who 
are also doubtful about it. We have, for instance, informa- 
tion from a doctor that he may not give sickness benefit 
until the last four weeks of pregnancy. That is a statement 
of a doctor made to the secretary of one of our women’s 
organisations. We have another statement, in fact we 
have the same statement, made about two Societies, that 
they do not give it at all, and about another that they do not 
give it until the last weeks. Further, there is the fact that 
some women think they have a right to it at a certain 
time . . . . On the whole, far fewer women apply for it than 
need it because of all these doubts . . . . Many insured 
women cannot afford to have a doctor for their confine- 
ment . . . . and they do not like to go and ask him for a 
certificate during pregnancy when they are not engaging 
him for confinement ** (Q. 23,036.) 
113. We submit that maternity benefit should be, in the case 
of the uninsured wife of an insured man, a cash payment of 20s. 
and in the case of an insured woman, maintenance for the 
mother and child at a rate not less than that of sickness benefit, 
for a period of twelve weeks, being not more than six weeks 
before and six weeks after confinement. 
114. The conditions attaching to the payment of this benefit 
could be designed to encourage such ante-natal treatment as may