14 & 15 GEORGE 5, CHAPTER 38.

council unless he is a member of a local authority within the county under the Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1897 (60 & 61 Vict. c. 38), or of the town council, as the case may be, but this requirement shall not apply to women if no women so qualified are available.

(4) Before submitting for approval a scheme prescribing areas to be assigned to district committees, the insurance committee of a county shall consult with the county council or any committee thereof appointed for the purpose, and shall consider any representation received from them.

(5) Where owing to sparseness of population, difficulties of communication or other special circumstances, they consider it desirable, a Scottish insurance committee shall have power, with the consent of the Board, to modify or suspend any benefits for the administration of which they are responsible, but where such modification or suspension takes place, provision shall be made by the committee, with the like consent, for the increase of other benefits or the grant of one or more additional benefits to an amount equivalent to the value of the modification or suspension.

(6) The provisions of this Act relating to the accounts of insurance committees and to the audit of those accounts shall in their application to Scotland have effect with the substitution of Part II. of the Fourth Schedule to this Act for Part I. of that Schedule.

113. EXPENSES AND POWERS OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES.-In the application of this Act to Scotland

(1) Expenses incurred by a county council under this Act shall be defrayed out of the general purposes rate :

Provided that :

(a) notwithstanding anything contained in the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 50) (in this Part of this Act referred to as the Act of 1889), the ratepayers of a police burgh shall not be assessed by the county council for any such expenses unless the police burgh is, for the purposes of this Act, held to be within the county; and

(b) with respect to every burgh within the meaning of the Act of 1889, which is, for the purposes of this Act, held to be within the county, subsection (3) and subsection (4) of section sixty, and section sixty-six of the Act of 1889, shall so far as applicable have effect as if those expenses were expenditure therein mentioned:

(2) Expenses incurred by a town council under this Act (whether under requisition from the county council or otherwise) shall be defrayed out of the public health general assessment, but shall not be reckoned in any calculation as to the statutory limit of that assessment, and references to the borough fund or borough rate shall be construed accordingly :

(3) Expenses of a district committee defrayed out of the public health general assessment within the district in pursuance of an agreement under this Act shall not be reckoned in any calculation as to the statutory limit of that assessment.

114. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS, INQUIRIES AND DISPUTES.-(1) All proceedings for any contravention of, or non-compliance with, any of the provisions of this Act or the regulations made thereunder, shall in Scotland be instituted and carried on under the provisions of the Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Acts, and may be taken at the instance of the procurator fiscal or of the Board.

(2) Where an employer in Scotland has failed or neglected to pay any contributions which, under this Act, he is liable to pay in respect of a person, the amount which he has so failed or neglected to pay shall be a debt due from the employer to the Board and shall be recoverable by the Board summarily as a civil debt:

Provided that the powers hereby conferred on the Board shall be deemed to be in supplement of and nowise in restriction of the powers conferred on them or on insured persons by any other provisions of this Act.

(3) It shall not be any objection to the competency of a person to give evidence

as a witness in proceedings in Scotland for an offence under this Act that the proceedings are prosecuted or conducted by him.

(4) The power to make regulations for the application to inquiries held under the section of this Act relating to the administration of medical benefit of any of the provisions of the Arbitration Act, 1889, relating to the costs of arbitration, the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents, shall not extend so as to authorise regulations to be made with respect to any such inquiries held in Scotland, but regulations so made may provide that, in the case of any such inquiry held in Scotland, the Board may make such award as seems to them proper in regard to the expenses of the inquiry and the finding thereon.

(5) Where any appeal or dispute is submitted to the Board under the provisions of this Act relating to disputes, the Board or the referees appointed by them to decide the appeal or dispute, may on the application of either party, at any stage of the proceedings, and shall, if so directed by either Division of the Court of Session, state a case on any question of law arising in the appeal or dispute for the opinion of either Division of the Court of Session, and the procedure in such stated cases shall, so far as practicable, be in accordance with the regulations and practice in Scotland prevailing in stated cases under sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (17) of the Second Schedule to the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1906 (6 Edw. 7, c. 58), provided always that the decision of the Court of Session shall be final.

115. COUNTY BENEFIT SOCIETIES.-Where under any enactment repealed by this Act a scheme for the establishment under any county council of an approved society for the county (in this section referred to as a county society) has been approved before the passing of this Act, the provisions of the scheme shall have effect notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, and, subject to those provisions, the county society shall be an approved society for all the purposes of this Act.

116. INTERPRETATION FOR PURPOSES OF APPLICATION OF ACT TO SCOTLAND.(1) For the purposes of this Act in its application to Scotland(a) "County borough" means a burgh or police burgh within the meaning of the Act of 1889, containing within the police boundaries thereof according to the census of nineteen hundred and eleven a population of twenty thousand or upwards, and includes the burgh of Dumfries and the police burgh of Maxwelltown, as if they were a single burgh, and all other burghs and police burghs shall, for the purposes of this Act, be held to be within the county, and unless already represented on the county council shall, for the purposes of this Act, be represented thereon as may be determined by the Secretary for Scotland:

Provided that references to the council of a county borough shall, in the case of Dumfries and Maxwelltown, be construed as references to a joint committee of the town councils thereof which shall from time to time be appointed subject to the provisions of section seventy-six of the Act of 1889:

(b) References to a county and the county council thereof shall as regards the counties of Kinross and Clackmannan, and the counties of Moray and Nairn, be construed in each case as references respectively to a combination of the two recited counties and to a joint committee of the county councils thereof which shall from time to time be appointed subject to the provisions of section seventy-six of the Act of 1889:

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(c) The expression "borough" and the expression "urban district " means a burgh or police burgh within the meaning of the Act of 1889, and the expression rural district and council of a rural district," unless inconsistent with the context, mean respectively a district of a county within the meaning of the said Act and the district committee thereof: (d) References to the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice of England shall be construed as references to the Lord President of the Court of Session :

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means poorhouse

(e) "Workhouse means poorhouse; workhouse infirmary hospital or the sick ward of any poorhouse; coverture means marriage; levy any distress or execution means use any diligence; "ejectment means removing ; amount of judgment debt means amount decerned for; "registrar of the county court" means court exercising jurisdiction in the proceedings; "board of guardians " means parish council; public elementary school means state-aided school; "Public Health Acts means the Public Health (Scotland) Acts, 1897 and 1907; "Local Loans Act, 1875' means the Local Authorities Loans (Scotland) Acts, 1891 and 1893; "Housing Acts, 1890 to 1923" means the Housing (Scotland) Acts, 1890 to 1923; and "High Court" means Court of Session:

References to the Board of Education shall be construed as references to the
Scottish Education Department.

(2) In the application to Scotland of the section of this Act relating to excessive sickness

(a) the expression "local taxation account " means the Local Taxation (Scotland) Account, and regulations respecting sums payable out of that account shall be made by the Secretary for Scotland :

(b) the expression "inspector" includes a person acting under section seven or section eight of the Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1897 (60 & 61 Vict. c. 38). (3) A person appointed in terms of the section of this Act relating to excessive sickness to hold an inquiry in Scotland shall report to the authority appointing him, and any further action following on the inquiry which, in accordance with the provisions of that section, is to be or may be taken by the person making the inquiry, shall not be taken by him, but may be taken by that authority after consideration of the report, and that section shall be read and construed accordingly.

(4) In the application of paragraph (a) of section twenty-eight of this Act to Scotland the words or the birth of a child " shall be added thereto.

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(5) In the application of section one hundred and five of this Act to Scotland, the following subsection shall have effect in lieu of subsection (2) of that section:(2) In awarding inlying expenses in Scotland in connection with the birth of an illegitimate child, the court shall not take into consideration the fact that the mother of the child is entitled to receive maternity benefit under this Act."

PART VIII.-APPLICATION OF ACT TO NORTHERN IRELAND.

PART IX.-APPLICATION OF ACT TO WALES.

PART X.-INTERPRETATION, SAVINGS AND REPEAL.

132. INTERPRETATION.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them respectively, that is to say

"Branch in relation to a society, shall not include any branch of the society which is not itself separately registered:

Provided that the Minister may, if he thinks fit so to do and subject to such conditions as he may prescribe, recognise for the purposes of this Act any branch of an approved society though the branch is not separately registered as a branch of the society:

"Contribution week" means the period of seven days commencing from the midnight between Sunday and Monday :

"County means administrative county:

NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE ACT, 1924.

"Dependants" in relation to any person, includes such persons as the approved society or insurance committee shall ascertain to be wholly or in part dependent upon his earnings:

means such disease or disablement as would entitle

means England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales:

an insured person to sickness or disablement benefit:

National area

"Prescribed " means prescribed by regulations:

"Regulations" means regulations made by the Minister under this Act: Special order means an order made by the Minister in accordance with the provisions of this Act relating to special orders:

"The Minister " means the Minister of Health:

"Valuer

means a person possessing such actuarial qualifications as may be approved by the Treasury:

Membership of an approved society means membership of the purposes of

this Act.

(2) In the provisions of this Act relating to the mercantile marine, unless the context otherwise requires

(a) Expressions have the same meaning as in the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1923, except that the expressions "foreign-going ship" and "hometrade ship" include a ship engaged in the sea fishing service, and the expression "foreign-going ship" includes a ship engaged in regular trade on foreign stations:

(b) The expression "ship engaged in regular trade on foreign stations" means a ship engaged regularly in trade between ports outside the British Islands exclusive of the Irish Free State when trading between such ports, but for the purposes of this provision a ship shall not be deemed not to be engaged in such a trade by reason only that she has put into a port in the United Kingdom for the purpose of survey or repair:

(c) The expression sea service includes the sea fishing service:

(d) The expression seaman includes an apprentice to the sea service. (3) For the purposes of this Act—

(a) Monmouthshire shall be deemed to form part of Wales:

(b) A person shall be deemed according to the law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as according to the law in Scotland, not to have attained the age of seventeen until the commencement of the seventeenth anniversary of the day of his birth, and similarly with respect to other ages.

133. REPEAL.-The enactments set out in the Seventh Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule:

Provided that, without prejudice to the provisions of section thirty-eight of the Interpretation Act, 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 63)

(a) Nothing in this repeal shall affect any order, rule, regulation or scheme made, certificate issued, notice, decision, direction or approval given, or thing done, under any enactment repealed by this Act, and every such order, rule, regulation, scheme, certificate, notice, decision, direction or approval shall continue in force, and, shall, so far as it could have been made, issued or given under this Act, have effect as if made, issued or given under the corresponding enactment of this Act, and any certificate of exemption granted under the National Health Insurance Act, 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5, c. 36), may be renewed as if that Act had not been repealed: (b) Any document referring to any enactment repealed by this Act shall be construed as referring to the corresponding enactment of this Act: (c) Any person appointed to any office under or by virtue of any enactment repealed by this Act shall be deemed to have been appointed to that office under or by virtue of this Act:

(d) All funds and accounts constituted under this Act shall be deemed to be in

14 & 15 GEORGE 5, CHAPTER 38.

continuation of the corresponding funds and accounts constituted under the enactments repealed by this Act:

(e) References in this Act to persons insured thereunder whether as employed contributors or as voluntary contributors shall, so far as necessary for the purpose of preserving any accruing right, be construed as including references to persons so insured under the enactments repealed by this Act, and any contributions paid in respect of any persons under the enactments repealed by this Act shall for the purposes of this Act be treated as if they had been paid under the corresponding enactments of this Act:

(f) Any body of persons having immediately before the commencement of this Act power to transact business relating to national health insurance shall continue to have the same power in that behalf which it would have had if this Act had not passed.

134. SHORT TITLE AND COMMENCEMENT.-(1) This Act may be cited as the National Health Insurance Act, 1924.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on the first day of January nineteen hundred and twenty-five.

SCHEDULES.

FIRST SCHEDULE (ss. 1, 118).

PART I.-EMPLOYMENTS WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE ACT.

(a) Employment in the United Kingdom under any contract of service or apprenticeship, written or oral, whether expressed or implied, and whether the employed person is paid by the employer or some other person, and whether under one or more employers, and whether paid by time or by the piece or partly by time and partly by the piece, or otherwise, or, except in the case of a contract of apprenticeship, without any money payment.

(b) Employment under such a contract as aforesaid as master or a member of the crew of any ship registered in the United Kingdom or of any other British ship or vessel of which the owner, or, if there is more than one owner, the managing owner or manager, resides or has his principal place of business in the United Kingdom. (c) Employment in the United Kingdom as an outworker, except in so far as such employment is excluded by special order.

The expression outworker means a person to whom articles or materials are given out by another person to be made up, cleaned, washed, altered, ornamented, finished, repaired or adapted for sale for the purposes of the trade or business of that other person where the process is to be carried out either in the home of the outworker or in some other premises not being premises under the control and management of that other person.

A special order under this provision may exclude outworkers engaged in work of any class, or outworkers of any class or description specified in the order.

The person who gives out the articles or materials shall, in relation to the person to whom they are given out, be deemed to be the employer of that person for the purposes of this Act, but a special order may provide that as respects any outworkers or any class of outworkers specified in the order a person specified in the order shall, instead of the person who gives out the articles or materials, be deemed to be the employer.

(d) Employment in the United Kingdom under any local or other public authority except in so far as such employment is excluded by a special order.

(e) Employment in the United Kingdom in plying for hire with any vehicle or vessel the use of which is obtained from the owner thereof under any contract of bailment (or in Scotland any contract of letting to hire) in consideration of the