320. Benefit, Pension, Grant and Allowance: The term “benefit” denotes a weekly payment continued as a rule so long as the need lasts, as with unemployment, disability and guardian benefit, but sometimes given for a limited time only as with training, maternity, and widow’s benefit. The term “pension” denotes a weekly payment presuming permanent or prolonged loss of earning power through age (retirement pension), or through industrial accident or disease (industrial pension). The term “grant” means a single payment for a specific purpose such as marriage, maternity, removal, or funeral, or in respect of fatal industrial accident or disease. The term “allowance” means a weekly payment in respect of a dependant, such as the allowance given to dependent children or the dependant allowance added to unemployment and disability benefit in respect of a person above the age of childhood.
321. No overlapping of Benefit or Pension: Subject to the exception suggested in para. 333 for partial incapacity pension arising from industrial accident or disease, only one benefit or pension can be drawn at the same time from the Social Insurance Fund. Receipt of benefit or pension can be combined with receipt of a grant or allowance.
322. Contribution Conditions for Full Benefit: The rates and periods of benefit or other insurance payment suggested below are for people in full benefit. The contribution conditions required for full benefit and the consequences of not being in full benefit are set out in paras. 367-368 below. In general, no person need fail to be in full benefit merely by reason of being unemployed, so long as he is available for work, or by reason of being disabled.
323. Waiting Time : For unemployment and disability of all kinds there will be a provisional waiting time of three days, that is to say, benefit will not be paid for the first three days of a period of unemployment or disability unless and until it lasts in all for four weeks.
324. Joint and single benefit and Retirement Pension: Benefit for Unemployment 01 disability and pension for retirement will be at two rates—as for a man and wife (joint benefit or pension) and as for one person (single benefit or pension). Though paid normally to one of the couple, a joint benefit or pension will be regarded as shared between them; if a man and wife in receipt of a joint retirement pension separate, it will be divided equally between them. The wife of an unemployed or disabled man will be regarded as sharing the joint benefit paid in his case (if she is not gainfully occupied) and not as a dependant in respect of whom he receives an increase of benefit or an allowance.
325. Dependant Allowance: If a single person entitled to unemployment, disability or training benefit has living with him or her a person above the age for children’s allowance, not gainfully occupied and dependent upon him or her, an allowance in respect of that dependant will be added to the benefit, subject to Regulations which may require previous registration of the dependant and will define dependency.
Note.—(i) The dependant allowance is not confined to adults, and may, therefore, cover both adults and people between 16 and 21. The examination of subsistence requirements in paras. 217-226 suggests that there is no substantial difference between the physical requirements of persons 16 to 21, and above that age.
(ii) The term “gainfully occupied” is used here subject to further definition as to how much occupation should exclude a person from the category of being a dependant. In the application of dependant allowances under unemployment insurance at present the rule is that a person is not dependent if he or she earns as much as the dependant allowance. It is for consideration whether this rule will suit the new scheme or whether a different rule, involving consideration of whether a person seeks exemption from contribution or not, should be applied.
(iii) Under the present unemployment insurance scheme, complicated provisions and rulings exist to determine the question of dependency. If this question is left for decision until after a claim to benefit has arisen, those complications are probably unavoidable, and the suggestion is made accordingly of requiring registration previous to the claim in the case of any dependant. This suggestion raises a number of administrative questions requiring further consideration.
326. Unemployment Benefit: This will be a weekly payment continued without means or needs test throughout working age, so long as the insured person remains unemployed and available for work, but subject to the proviso that after he has drawn unconditional benefit for a limited period, the insured person, as a condition of remaining on benefit, will be required to attend a work or training centre. Receipt of indefinite unemployment benefit will be subject to being in full benefit, i.e. having paid contributions as required in paras. 366-367. Disqualifications, as at present, will apply to men refusing suitable employment, dismissed for misconduct or leaving their work voluntarily without just cause. Employees continuing to work after reaching the minimum pensionable age will be able to obtain unemployment benefit, but the period for which they can draw such benefit will be limited.
327. Limited Unconditional Period: The normal period of unconditional unemployment benefit will be six months, subject to the following adjustments :—
(a) The period may be increased generally by Order of the Minister for Social Security on the ground of a general depression of trade;
(b) A shorter period may be prescribed by Regulations for persons below adult age;
(c) Men of good contribution record who have made small claims may be entitled to additional days of unconditional unemployment benefit. Unconditional benefit will be paid only to persons producing proof of unemployment by signature of a register or otherwise and of readiness to accept suitable employment.
Note.—The suggestion in para (c) for carrying on the present arrangements for additional days of benefit under the general unemployment insurance scheme is provisional, subject to further enquiry as to its desirability under new conditions.
328. Unlimited Conditional Benefit: Any person exhausting his claim to unconditional benefit, but otherwise in full benefit, will be able to continue to draw unemployment benefit without means test, subject to attendance, as required, at a work or training centre.
329. emoval and Lodgings Grant: Subject to Regulations, provision will be made for grants, by way of loan or otherwise, to meet in whole or in part expenses of removal and temporary lodging, to persons taking work or training at a distance from their present homes.
330. Disability Benefit: This will be a weekly payment available to persons in Classes I and II continued, subject to being in full benefit (para 367), so long as they are physically incapacitated from work from any cause, throughout working age or till replaced by industrial pension. It will be paid to any person in Class I for the whole period of disability subject to the waiting time of three days provided by para. 323. In Class 11 it will be paid only for prolonged disability, that is to say only after disability has lasted thirteen weeks. During the first thirteen weeks of any illness, persons in Class II though receiving treatment will not receive cash benefit or be excused from contribution.
331. Industrial Accident and Disease: Provision for disability or death through accident or disease arising out of and in the course of employment will be included in the social insurance scheme, like disability or death due to any other cause. Medical treatment of employees affected by industrial accident or disease will be provided as part of the national medical service. Post-medical rehabilitation will be provided as part of a general service, to be organised by the Ministry of Labour and National Service, for all persons capable of profiting by it, irrespective of the cause of their disability. Administration of cash benefits will be undertaken by the Ministry of Social Security. The separate system of workmen’s compensation will be superseded. But a number of important differences will continue to be made between the results of industrial accident or disease and disability or death due to other causes. These differences are set out in paras. 332-335 relating to industrial pension, partial disability, industrial grant, conditions of benefit and pension. There will also be an industrial levy on employers in scheduled industries to meet a proportion of the special cost of accidents and disease occurring in them (para. 360). Amendment or review of some of the present provisions— as to remuneration limit, common law liability, lump sum compensation, definition of dependants, and principles and machinery for assessment of earnings and distribution of death grants—is proposed (para. 336).
332. Industrial Pension: If disability due to industrial accident or disease lasts for more than thirteen weeks, disability benefit at a flat rate will be replaced by industrial pension related to average earnings so long as disability continues. The industrial pension for total disablement will be at the rate of two-thirds of the earnings of the employee when in full employment, subject to a minimum of being not less than the benefit which he would have received for ordinary disability, that is, joint or single benefit according to whether he is married or single, with dependant allowance where that would be payable, ‘and subject to a maximum of £3 a week. Industrial pensions will not be awarded in respect of disablement arising after the minimum pensionable age, but a pension granted before that age has been reached will, if greater than the retirement pension, continue to the end of life in place of retirement pension. Since industrial pension is related to the earnings, it will be the same for single as for married men, except that the minimum for the married man will be higher, being the rate of joint disability benefit and not of single disability benefit.
333. Partial Disablement: A proportion of the industrial pension will be granted for partial disablement, in accord with the loss of earning capacity. Since a person in receipt of a partial industrial pension may be able to work and therefore may become unemployed or fall sick, he may qualify for unemployment or disability benefit. Since the partial industrial pension is in respect of his lowered earning capacity, he will be able to an extent to be defined by Regulations to combine partial industrial pension with unemployment or disability benefit simultaneously. This is an exception for special reasons to the general rule in para. 321 against overlapping of benefits.
334. Industrial Grant: If death results from industrial accident or disease, a grant will be paid in respect of the widow, if any, and of persons wholly or mainly dependent on the deceased, in addition to funeral grant and widow’s and guardian benefit, but taking account of this provision. The amount of the industrial grant, the dependants to be taken into account, and the form and allocation of the grant will be determined in accord with the Regulations of the Minister of Social Security to be made after further investigation and consultation with the interested parties. No industrial grant will be paid in respect of deaths occurring after the minimum age of retirement.
335. No Contribution Conditions on Industrial Claims: No contribution conditions will be imposed for payment of benefit, pension or grant in respect of disability or death due to industrial accident or disease: that is to say, the right to such payments will depend on whether or not disability or death is due to accident or disease arising out of and in the course of employment under a contract of service.
336. Changes in Present Compensation Provisions : The present provisions in regard to compensation for industrial accident and disease will be affected in the following among other ways :—
(a) Abolition of the remuneration limit for non-manual workers. No persons otherwise entitled will be excluded on the ground that his remuneration exceeds a given figure.
(b) Restriction of lump sum payments for disability to cases in which the Security Office is satisfied that such a payment is in the employee’s interest either because the disability does not make him incapable of earning a wage sufficient for subsistence or because of some other special reason.
(c) Dealing with claims by administrative rather than legal procedure. Assessment of industrial pensions and grants will be undertaken by officers specialising in that work, subject to the right of appeal by employee or employer or associations of employees or employers to special local tribunals consisting of three regular members (in place of a Chairman and assessors from a panel as with Courts of Referees).
(d) Review of the law of employers’ liability in view of the improved provision for the results of industrial accident or disease.
(e) The setting up of statutory associations of employers and employees in industries scheduled as hazardous, with various functions of administration and advice as indicated in paras. 91-92.
337. Contributory Retirement Pension: Any person in Classes I, II or IV, on reaching the minimum pensionable age of 65 for a man or 60 for a woman, will be able to retire upon a contributory pension which will be at the same basic rate for single men and single women. There will be a joint retirement pension for a man and wife, payable when both are of pensionable age, and also when the husband alone is of pensionable age, if the wife is not gainfully occupied. A married woman who has been gainfully occupied and has paid the required contributions will be able to retire on pension on reaching the minimum pensionable age and ceasing from gainful occupation, irrespective of her husband’s age. A married woman who has not been gainfully occupied or who has obtained exemption from contributions in respect of gainful occupation, will not be able to obtain pension so long as her husband is working, but on his retirement will share the joint pension.
Note.—In accordance with paras. 233-257, to which reference should be made for a full account of the proposals in regard to old age, contributory pensions will rise to the full rate gradually during a transition period of about twenty years. During this period assistance pensions taking account of subsistence needs, as determined for the purpose of contributory pensions, will be given subject to consideration of means, either in supplementation of contributory pensions or in place of them, as may be required. During this period the rate of unemployment or disability benefit will be materially higher than the rate of contributory pensions and the right of persons who continue at work after reaching the minimum pensionable age to draw unemployment or disability benefit in place of going on pension will be restricted by Regulations.
338. Increase of Pension above basic rate: A person continuing gainful occupation in Class I or Class II after reaching minimum pensionable age will continue to contribute, and in respect of each year of postponement, subject to making the prescribed number of contributions, will have his rate of pension on retirement increased. Such a person, until he retires, will be able to obtain benefit in unemployment or disability, but not for more than (say) 20 weeks in any benefit year. If a person who has retired on pension thereafter under takes paid work, either in employment or otherwise, the amount of his pension in any three months will be reduced by a proportion of his earnings in a previous three months. Though in Class IV there will be no retirement from work, a person in this class on reaching the minimum pensionable age will be able to decide either to go on pension at once or, by postponing application for pension and continuing to contribute, to obtain later a pension increased above the basic rate.
339. Marriage needs: For the purpose of the Social Insurance scheme housewives form a special Class (III). Every woman on marriage will become a new person, acquiring new rights and not carrying on into marriage claims to unemployment or disability benefit in respect of contributions made before marriage. Some new rights, as for marriage grant and maternity grant, apply to all married women; all women also during marriage will continue to acquire qualifications for pensions in old age through contributions made by their husbands. Some of the new rights, as for share of benefit due to husband’s unemployment or disability, apply only to married women who are not gainfully occupied. Some, as for maternity benefit in addition to maternity grant, apply only to married women who are gainfully occupied. Some of the claims arise only on the end of marriage—either by widowhood or by divorce or other forms of separation. There has to be considered, finally, in connection with provision for marriage, the problem of the unmarried person living as a wife.
340. [Marriage Grant]: Every woman on marriage will be entitled to a grant at the rate of £1 for every 40 actual contributions prior to marriage in Classes I or II up to a maximum of £10. This grant is desirable both as compensation for giving up previous qualifications for benefit and having to requalify if she continues in gainful occupation, and also in order to obtain prompt notification of marriage. It is bracketed, however, as something not essential to the rest of the Scheme and something that might be omitted if it were thought necessary to reduce contributions (see para. 403).
341. Maternity Grant and Maternity Benefit: All married women, whether themselves gainfully occupied or not, will be entitled to a maternity grant, and also to medical attention and midwifery and nursing services as part of the comprehensive health service. Married women who are also gainfully occupied will be entitled to maternity benefit, in addition to maternity grant, for a period of 13 weeks including the date of the birth, on condition of giving up for the time their gainful occupation. The maternity grant is not intended to cover the whole cost of maternity, which has a reasonable and natural claim upon the husband’s earnings. But it should be raised materially above its present figure. The maternity benefit is intended to make it easy and attractive for women to give up gainful occupation at the time of maternity, and will be at a rate materially higher than ordinary unemployment or disability benefit.
342. Benefit in Husband’s Unemployment and Disability: If a man insured against unemployment or disability has a wife who is not herself gain fully occupied, joint benefit will be paid, sufficient for the subsistence of both. The extent of gainful occupation by the wife which should be ground for giving single benefit only will need definition. One plan would be to adopt the present practice in unemployment insurance of giving dependant allowance unless the wife is earning as much as the allowance. An alternative plan would be to allow the joint rate of benefit in the husband’s unemployment or disability, wherever the wife had applied for and obtained exemption from contributions; that is to say, the wife could choose either to qualify for benefit in her own unemployment or disability or to share in joint benefit when the husband was unemployed or disabled.
343. Retirement Pension on Husband’s Contributions: When a husband and wife are both of pensionable age they will be able on his retirement to obtain a joint retirement pension which, though normally paid to one of the two, will be regarded as belonging to both and will be divided equally if they separate. Contributions paid by a man so long as legal marriage lasts will be reckoned as contributions on behalf of his wife for her pension whether or not he is living with her. A wife will not be entitled to pension in respect of her husband’s contributions merely on the ground that she is of pensionable age, if he has not yet retired. If the husband is of pensionable age and retired but the wife is below pensionable age, joint pension will be paid if she is living with him and is not gainfully occupied. This will be subject to Regulations requiring a minimum duration of the marriage before joint pension is claimed.
344. Household Help in Sickness: The housewife who has no gainful occupation or who has so little that she prefers to be exempt from contributions will get no disability benefit in sickness; she will not have lost earnings on which she depended. But it may well happen in sickness that she feels unable to take the necessary hospital treatment because she cannot leave her household duties. The comprehensive health service should include means of giving household help to housewives, where this appears to be necessary to make possible their most effective medical treatment. This should be organised as part of the welfare service of hospitals and given on the recommendation of the doctor who sends her to the hospital. This service could, if necessary, be extended to giving necessary household help when the housewife is ill at home. But this hardly seems likely to be needed; neighbourly and family help should meet such cases. The case is different when it is important to overcome difficulties in getting a patient to hospital as soon as her health requires it.
345. Married Woman Gainfully Occupied; A woman who after marriage undertakes gainful occupation, under contract of service in Class I, will always have the right to claim exemption, that is to say, to pay no contributions of her own, though her employer will pay contributions. Whether or not she claims exemption, she will receive maternity benefit. If she claims exemption, she will not qualify for unemployment or disability benefits during marriage or for retirement pension except as one of the married team, that is to say, except for her share of the joint retirement pension mentioned in para. 343. If, on the other hand, in place of claiming exemption, she prefers to contribute, she will, subject to the normal contribution and benefit conditions, be able to obtain:
(a) Unemployment or disability benefit at a reduced rate but subject to the same conditions as other insured persons, i.e. without any Anomalies Regulations for Married Women.
(b) Pension on her own retirement from gainful occupation after 60, irrespective of her husband’s age and occupation.
A married woman will equally be able to obtain exemption if she takes gainful occupation in Class II.
346. End of Marriage by Widowhood: The provision to be made for widowhood depends upon the circumstances of the widow, including her age, the existence or not of dependent children and the question whether the death of the husband was due to industrial accident or disease or to some other cause.
If the widow is of pensionable age, that is to say above 60, she, subject to the husband being in full benefit by contributions, will receive retirement pension at the single pensioner’s rate. For widows of working age no permanent pension will be provided, but every such widow will receive a widow’s benefit at the same rate as maternity benefit for 13 weeks. At the end of that time, if and so long as she has the care of dependent children, she will be entitled to guardian benefit. This with children’s allowances will be designed to be enough for subsistence even if the widow earns nothing by work. If she does go out to work, a reduction of the full guardian benefit will be made, of a proportion of her earnings. Guardian benefit will cease so soon as the last child ceases to be dependent, if the widow re-marries, and if and when she retires on pension (a rare case). A widow in receipt of widow’s or guardian benefit, if she takes employment or is otherwise gainfully occupied, will have the option of doing so as an exempt person.
Every widow of working age and capacity will be able to apply for training benefit. After training, a widow of working age without dependent children, will become liable to work and contribute as a single woman.
The widow will be entitled to funeral grant in respect of herself and of any dependent child.
If the death of the husband has taken place through industrial accident or disease, an industrial grant, that is to say, compensation in the form of a lump sum related to the husband’s earnings will be paid in addition to any of the other benefits, but taking account of them, and subject to the power of the Ministry of Social Security to control the disposition of the grant.
If at the time of the death of the husband the widow, though childless, is totally disabled she will, subject to her husband’s contributions, be able to obtain disability benefit so long as the disability lasts, after widow’s benefit.
347. End of Marriage otherwise than by Widowhood: Divorce, legal separation, desertion and voluntary separation may cause needs similar to those caused by widowhood. They differ from widowhood in two respects: that they may occur through the fault or with the consent of the wife, and that except where they occur through the fault of the wife they leave the husband’s liability for maintenance unchanged. If they are regarded from the point of view of the husband, they may not appear to be insurable risks; a man cannot insure against events which occur only through his fault or with his consent, and if they occur through the fault or with the consent of the wife she should not have a claim to benefit. But from the point of view of the woman, loss of her maintenance as housewife without her consent and not through her fault, is one of the risks of marriage against which she should be insured; she should not depend on assistance. Recognition of housewives as a distinct insurance class, performing necessary service not for pay, implies that, if the marriage ends otherwise than by widowhood, she is entitled to the same provision as for widowhood, unless the marriage maintenance has ended through her fault or voluntary action without just cause. That is to say, subject to the practical considerations mentioned in the note below she should get temporary separation benefit (on the same lines as widow’s benefit), and guardian or training benefit where appropriate.
Note.—The principle that a married woman who without fault of her own loses the maintenance to which she is entitled from her husband should get benefit is clear. It is obvious, however, that except where the maintenance has ended through divorce or other form of legal separation establishing that the default is not that of the wife, considerable practical difficulties may arise in determining whether a claim to benefit, as distinct from assistance, has arisen. There will often be difficulty in determining responsibility for the break-up of the marriage. There will in cases of desertion be difficulty in establishing the fact or the permanence of desertion. There will in all cases be the problem of alternative remedies open to the wife. The point to which the principle of compensating a housewife for the loss of her maintenance otherwise than by widowhood can be carried in practice calls for further examination. It may for practical reasons be found necessary to limit the widow’s insurance benefit to cases of formal separation, while making it clear that she can in all cases at need get assistance and that the Ministry of Social Security will then proceed against the husband for recoupment of its expenditure.
348. Unmarried Person Living as a Wife: Treatment of this problem, complicated by the possibility that either or both parties in this extra-legal relation may have a legal spouse, is necessarily difficult. The main principles on which it should be approached are as follows:—
(i) A man who is himself unmarried but has living with him as his wife a woman who is not herself gainfully occupied should be able during unemployment and disability to obtain a dependant allowance as he could for any other dependant, bringing benefit up to the joint rate for two persons. On principle it seems right to exclude dependant allowance in such cases where the man already has a legal wife, though the practical problems involved in this need further examination,
(ii) Widow’s and guardian benefits should not be paid except to a woman who was the legal wife of the dead man. Retirement pension should not be paid in respect of contributions other than the woman’s own contributions, except to the legal wife of the retired man.
(iii) Maternity grant and maternity benefit raise the most difficult of all questions in this connection. On the one hand, it may be said that, in the interests of the child, grant and benefit should be paid where appropriate, irrespective of the marital relation of the parents. Against this it may be said that the interest of the State is not in getting children born, but in getting them born in conditions which secure to them the proper domestic environment and care. The decision in regard to maternity grant may depend on whether or not it is thought to be practicable and desirable administratively to require previous registration of an adult dependant. In that case a man who had an unmarried person living with him as his wife, on registering this, would be qualified to obtain dependant allowance for her during unemployment and disability and maternity grant also. Jn regard to maternity benefit, in spite of the fact that this is for married women to some extent a compensation for lower unemployment and disability benefits if gainfully occupied, it will probably be felt right, in the interests of the child, to make this benefit equally available to unmarried mothers, so that they may have the same opportunity of withdrawing from gainful occupation at the time of the confinement. An unmarried mother will have an affiliation claim against the father and it may be proper to give the Security Office the right of proceeding against him for recoupment of maternity benefit, but even if the Security Office has this right it should not in practice exercise that right in such a way as to discourage an application for maternity benefit from the woman.
349. Training Benefit: Subject to Regulations, the Security Office will be authorised to give a training benefit to persons capable of work and available for work, who are not entitled to unemployment benefit and need to find a new means of livelihood. The benefit will be at the same rate as unemployment benefit, including dependent allowance, and will be granted without means test up to a maximum period normally of 26 weeks, subject to satisfactory attendance at a training centre. The Regulations will provide for payment of removal and lodging grants where necessary and may provide for payments to cover additional expenditures incurred by persons under training. Training benefit will be available for the following cases:—
(i) Persons who have been gainfully occupied in Class II but lose their livelihood and are accepted for training for new work, in employment or otherwise.
(ii) Widows (or deserted or separated wives) of working age with or without dependent children.
(iii) Persons in Class IV whose circumstances change, so as to make it necessary for them to earn, e.g., spinsters who have been rendering unpaid service which is no longer needed, and persons who lose private means.
350. Funeral Grant: Subject to contribution conditions, a funeral grant varying with the age of the deceased person will be made in respect of every death. The person to receive the grant in each case will be defined by Regulations which may provide for nomination of a recipient by the person insured and will require the recipient to undertake responsibility for the funeral. The grant suggested on full benefit is £6 for a child under 3 years of age, £10 for a child between 3 and 10, £15 between 10 and 21 and £20 thereafter. The relevant contributions will be those of the deceased person if gainfully occupied, of the father or widowed mother in case of dependent children, of the husband in case of a housewife. Persons retired on pension will always be on full benefit for funeral grant, as will widows receiving guardian or training benefit. A funeral grant will not be paid in respect of persons aged 60 or more at the beginning of the scheme.
351. Blind persons: where blindness occurs, as in most cases it now occurs, late in life, those who are wholly incapacitated by it will be qualified by contributions for disability benefit, or industrial pension. The special needs of blind persons, including provision of partial incapacity allowance additional to disability benefit for special expenses, welfare and opportunities for useful work and occupation will be covered under a new scheme to be prepared by the Ministry of Social Security in consultation with the Local Authorities and other agencies concerned, on the general principle that the primary responsibility for cash payments falls upon the Ministry of Social Security and that provision of institutions and care associated with them falls on the Local Authorities.
352. Other Infirm Persons : Cripples, chronic bronchitics and other classes of permanent invalids, will, like blind persons, normally have been contributors in either Class I or II and will receive disability benefit on becoming infirm. Where infirmity starting before working age prevents the person from entering a gainful occupation and therefore from qualifying for disability benefit provision will be made for national assistance in case of need.
353. Application to Existing Cases : The application of the new rates of insurance payment to existing cases of disability, unemployment and widow
hood raises questions which may be answered differently for different forms of payment as follows :—
(1) In regard to industrial disability, it is proposed that all persons who, at the beginning of the scheme, are in receipt of weekly payments less than the industrial pension which they would have received under the scheme shall, if and when their disability has exceeded thirteen weeks in length, be granted the new rates (paras. 101-105). No contributions have been required for industrial disability benefit and pension in the past and no contribution conditions are proposed in future.
(2) In regard to pensions it is proposed that existing pensioners, if and when they retire and give up work, shall receive contributory pensions according to the rising scale (para. 242). These pensioners will get pension above the rate for which they have contributed but subject to a new condition.
(3) In regard to unemployment, which is assumed to be of a temporary character, the new rates will apply as from the beginning of the scheme to all persons who are unemployed thereafter. For persons whose unemployment is prolonged the benefit will be conditional on attendance
at a training centre.
(4) In regard to widows, the temporary widow’s benefit will apply only to deaths occurring after the beginning of the scheme. The guardian
benefit will be available for persons widowed before the beginning of the scheme. Existing widows without children will retain their present
pensions.
(5) The treatment of disability other than industrial raises questions which are both important and difficult. The numbers involved are large.
In February 1942 there were about 425,000 persons in receipt of sickness benefit and 375,000 persons in receipt of disablement benefit under the
present scheme. The right line for treating these people in relation to the rest of the Social Insurance Scheme is not clear. In the past, when contributions and benefits have been raised, the new rates have been applied automatically to all the existing cases, but the increases of benefit were small, whereas in regard to sickness and disablement the difference of levels between the present scheme and the proposed scheme is great. Moreover, new classes are being brought into insurance. Finally the pension rates are being raised, not at once, but over a period of years. To apply the new rates or disability automatically to all existing cases of sickness and disablement at the beginning of the scheme would have two effects which might cause criticism : (a) the new rates could not well be limited to the present contributory classes, so that it might become necessary to give high disability benefits to permanent invalids who have hitherto been outside any insurance scheme ; (b) many of the prolonged disability cases would be persons advanced in years and nearing the pension age. Under the proposals for pension when they reach that age they will receive during the transition period not the full pension of 40/- joint or 24/- single, i.e. the same as disability benefit, but something which may be much less. Thus if a permanent invalid with a wife, now receiving 10/6 a week as disablement benefit were raised to 40/- in 1945 at the age of 63, he would come back to 26/6 in 1947. It would obviously cause great trouble to put permanent invalids up for one or two years to the new rates, only to take them down again as soon as they reached pensionable age. These considerations suggest that the new scales of disability benefit unlimited in time should apply only to people who pay the initial qualifying contributions under the new scheme, and that persons who fail to qualify through being permanent invalids should be treated as prematurely pensioned, their disability benefit at any time being kept to the level of what they would get as persons retired on pension. The question, however, is difficult and calls for further examination of the numbers and classes of persons concerned, and of the method of distinguishing between those who are to be treated as permanent invalids on pension and those who may qualify for disability benefit.