number of cases in which contributions had been paid in respect of such employees is affected.

A third appeal was lodged by the Insurance Unemployment Board, Incorporated, against three decisions concerning the insurability of sick visitors employed by an Approved Society. The appeal was upheld in two cases and disallowed in the third. During the year close touch has been maintained with representatives of the National Farmers' Union and various questions affecting their members have been discussed with members of that body, as well as with those of other similar Associations, e.g., the Scottish Seed Potato Trades Association, the Land Agents' Society, the Country Gentlemen's Association, &c.

Agriculture.-A Departmental Committee was appointed by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Secretary for Scotland, under the chairmanship of Sir R. Henry Rew, K.C.B., to consider the position of agricultural workers in relation to Unemployment Insurance. The terms of reference of the Committee are as follows:

"To consider and report whether it is desirable that workers in agriculture should be compulsorily insured against the risk of unemployment, and, if so, on what terms and conditions and in what manner the insurance of agricultural workers can be most effectively provided either by the inclusion of agriculture within the scope of existing legislation or by means of new legislation."

Evidence has been submitted by the Department. The Committee commenced their sittings on the 27th May, 1925, and had not presented their report by the end of 1925.

Exemptions.

The figures relating to exempt persons show a slight decrease in comparison with those for the previous year.

The number of persons exempt from Unemployment Insurance in Great Britain at the 31st December, 1925, was 38,472. Of these, 20,527 were exempt from Unemployment Insurance only and 17,945 from both National Health and Unemployment Insurance.

The number of exemption certificates applied for, granted, and refused, during the year 1925 was as follows:

Certificates of Exception.

The following table shows the number of Authorities, &c., who had certificates at 31st December, 1925 :

Numbers of Authorities and Public Utility Companies to which Certificates of Exception (current at 31st December, 1925) have been issued under Part II (d) (as amended) of the First Schedule to the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920.

192

11

2.009

...

...

Other Public Utility Companies

Employment with Statutory Superannuation
rights (other than any case included above)...

It will be noted that in some cases these figures are smaller than those previously published. This is due to the fact that scrutiny of the Department's records has revealed that in some instances an Authority or company was counted more than once in the previous figures if it held more than one certificate. In the above table the figures have been revised with a view to securing that an Authority or company is counted once only irrespective of the number of certificates held.

The numbers of employees covered by the certificates held by the above Authorities and companies are not yet available for any later date than that of the figures supplied in the previous Report (p. 128). These figures are obtained at intervals. The last occasion on which they were obtained was 30th June, 1923. In June, 1926, it is proposed to obtain up-to-date figures which should be available for the next Report.

During 1925 a number of cases came to light in which excepted employees had been discharged from their employment on grounds other than misconduct, neglect in the performance of, or unfitness to perform their duties. Such employees were in many cases not entitled to the receipt of unemployment benefit. The issue of a certificate of exception imposes no legal obligation on employers to retain their excepted employees, but where discharges have taken place the Minister has had to consider whether the circumstances call for the withdrawal of the certificate. Certain certificates have in fact been withdrawn in these circumstances.

Exclusion by Special Order.

Following similar action by the Ministry of Health under the National Health Insurance Act, 1924, Consolidating Orders

(S.R.O., 1925, Nos. 1323 and 1367) defining the position under Unemployment Insurance of various classes of part-time workers (previously covered by a number of separate orders) were made on 28th November and 23rd December, 1925, to take effect from 4th January, 1926.

Rates and Periods.

BENEFIT.

During the year 1925 no alterations were made in the rates of unemployment benefit or the periods in respect of which such benefit could be drawn. The following table shows the amount of benefit paid during the year; it includes standard, extended and dependants benefit :

The average weekly payment per head of persons
actually drawing benefit within the year was ...
The average weekly number of persons paid
benefit was about

Conditions.

18s. 2d.

977,600

Three important changes in the conditions governing the receipt of benefit were made by the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1925, which was passed on 7th August, 1925, though some of its provisions became operative only from a later date.

Waiver of first Statutory Condition.-Reference was made on pages 132 and 133 of the last Report to the 30 contributions condition and to the terms upon which on two occasions, namely, in August. 1924. and in October, 1924, the Minister had exercised his power to waive that condition. In February, 1925, the rules for waiver were again revised and it was laid down that on and after 19th February, 1925, the "30 contributions" condition should, except in the case of certain disabled ex-service men, be waived only in the case of applicants in respect of whom either (i) 8 contributions had been paid since the beginning of the two insurance years preceding the benefit year, or (ii) 30 contributions had been paid at any time. Applicants other than disabled ex-service men who did not satisfy one or the other of these two alternative conditions were to be disqualified for the receipt of any benefit, whether standard or extended. The exception in the case of disabled ex-service men

related to those who proved that they were at the time of application, or had been at any time, in receipt of a pension for disability contracted during the late war. These cases were to be considered by Local Employment Committees expressly on the question whether the failure to show the required contributions might reasonably be regarded as attributable to the claimant's disability. Local Employment Committees were requested in the consideration of such cases to co-operate with the local King's Roll Committees where such existed. The total number of disallowances under the waiver rules from 13th January, 1925, to 28th December, 1925, was 15,258.

66

The Minister's power to waive the 30 contribution. ` condition, which was given by the Unemployment Insurance (No. 2) Act, 1924, extended only to the end of September, 1925. As the year progressed it became apparent that it would not be practicable to apply the condition without mitigation from 1st October onwards. It accordingly became necessary to seek from Parliament further power, and by Section 2 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1925, the period during which the Minister could exercise the power of waiver was extended to 30th June, 1927.

Waiting Period.-By Section 3 of the same Act the waiting period, i.e., the period for which benefit is not payable at the beginning of a spell of unemployment, which, by the No. 2 Act of 1924, had been reduced from a week to three days, was again extended from three days to a week as from 1st October, 1925. In this connection it may be noted that throughout the operation of the Unemployment Insurance scheme, from the 1911 Act onwards, the waiting period has been one week, with the excep tion of the periods from 8th November, 1920, to 29th June. 1921, and 1st August, 1924, to 30th September, 1925, during which two periods it was three days.

Extended Benefit.-It will be recollected (see pages 134 and 135 of the previous Report) that the granting of uncovenanted benefit was originally a matter within the discretion of the Minister and that in the exercise of that discretion the Minister imposed certain limitations on the grant of uncovenanted benefit which were removed in February, 1924; further, that in the No. 2 Act of 1924 the discretionary power of the Minister was not reproduced and extended benefit thereafter became a payment that could be claimed as a right, subject to the fulfilment of the conditions specified in the Acts, instead of a discretionary grant. On account of the serious unemployment which continued throughout 1925 the drain upon the Unemployment Fund was considerable and it became necessary to take steps to conserve the Fund for the benefit of those who were most in need of its assistWith this aim, Section 1 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1925, restored the Minister's discretionary power by providing that, instead of an applicant who fulfilled certain conditions being entitled to receive benefit, the Minister might, if.

ance.

having regard to all the circumstances of the case, he considered it expedient in the public interest so to do, authorise that person to receive benefit. During the passage of the Bill through the House of Commons the Minister was asked on what lines he proposed to exercise this power if it were given to him, and he stated that, in the first instance, the classes in respect of whom he would exercise the power of withholding extended benefit would be the same as those affected by the previous discretionary power. In the result, rules were made, in terms practically identical with those of the rules previously in operation, relating to the classes of persons indicated on pages 134 and 135 of the previous Report. It will be recollected that the rules in question discriminated against former enemy aliens. During the course of 1925 this discrimination was removed and all aliens were put on the same footing in this connection. It may be mentioned in passing that the number of former enemy aliens who had been affected by the rules was probably quite small.

Determination of Claims.

The machinery for determining claims is described in paras. 309-332 of the Report on National Unemployment Insurance to July, 1923.

Insurance Officer.-The following table shows the number of cases referred to the Chief Insurance Officer in the period covered by the present Report and the nature of his decisions :--Number of Claims referred to Chief Insurance Officer for the period 1st January to 31st December, 1925.

Courts of Referees.-The following table shows the number of cases considered by Courts of Referees and the nature of the Courts' recommendations:

Number of Claims considered by Courts of Referees for the period 1st January, 1925, to 31st December, 1925.

No. Referred.

144.025

No. Allowed.
53.999

* See footnote on p. 67.

No. Disallowed.

90,026