Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 15 Gorffennaf 1925.
I hope the hon. Member will allow me to finish making my point. I have read the words from the Act. It confers benefits on those incapable of work, whether the incapacity is caused by disease or general ill-health or bodily or mental disablement. [HON. MEMBERS: "No!"] Well, that is what the Act itself says. I turn to Section 15 of that Act, which, as the Committee will see, is the prototype of the Clause which we are now discussing. It says:
Where an insured person has received … . whether from his employer or any other person any compensation or damages under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1906 .… or under the Employers Liability Act or at common law in respect of any injury or disease the following provisions shall apply.
The provisions are that no sickness benefits or disablement benefits are to be paid, unless the compensation he has received from workmen's compensation, etc., is less than the amount which he would receive otherwise under the Insurance Act. If this insurance has nothing whatever to do with the provisions of the National Insurance Act, how is it, when the compensation is not equal to the compensation given by the Health Insurance Act, that Act comes in and gives them the difference? If we had been absolutely logical and had based ourselves entirely upon this Clause we should not only have made the provision which we have made in the Clause under discussion, but we should have taken out also widows' pensions, and we should have included not only the Workmen's Compensation Act but the Employers' Liability Act and Common Law as well. Because we have been rather soft-hearted in this matter, because we have relaxed to some extent, because we have made a change in this Bill which is closely linked with the Insurance Act and improved it from the contributor's standpoint in comparison with the National Insurance Act, we are denounced for not having gone further. It is not an encouragement to make concessions if each one is simply to be made the ground for further demands.