8.—6.

To meet this expenditure the social security charge and registration fee will, it is estimated, provide £10,600,000, and miscellaneous receipts £30,000, while the transfer of £3,600,000 from the Consolidated Fund, together with balances in hand at the beginning of the year, should meet the difference and at the same time leave something to meet possible additional claims during the year. It is the intention to introduce this session several amendments to the Social Security Act. Firstly it is proposed to give further assistance to the family man on the lower scales of income by extending the family benefit to cover the first child. This means an increase of 4s. a week in the family benefit now payable. It is estimated that this increase will cost £230,000 during the first year of operation. The position of age beneficiaries with dependants will also be improved, and to place them on the same basis as other classes of benefits it is proposed to increase the rates payable in respect of the wives and children to 10s. each per week, with a maximum age-benefit in any particular case of £4 10s. weekly. Under the present legislation any person qualified to receive an age-benefit cannot be granted an invalid's benefit, and in consequence the Social Security Commission has no option but to convert an invalid's benefit into an age-benefit when the qualifying age of sixty is reached if the beneficiary is otherwise eligible for a benefit of this nature. This transfer necessitates an adjustment in the rates of benefit, and as the amount at present payable for the wife and children of an invalid is 10s. weekly as compared with ss. a week for age beneficiaries, a reduction has generally been necessary. The proposed amendment will not only correct this anomalous position, but will also allow some additional assistance to be granted to those age beneficiaries who have dependants. The cost of making this alteration is estimated at £74,000 per annum. A further amendment relates to invalids' beneficiaries, and it has been decided to raise the maximum invalids' benefit from £4 to £4 10s. weekly. Irrespective of the number of dependent children, the amount of an invalid benefit under the present provisions cannot exceed £4 a week, and the proposed amendment will bring this class of benefit into line with miners', widows', and age benefits and make the conditions of payment more uniform. The additional expenditure involved in this case is £6,000 per annum. It is also proposed to adjust the War Veterans' allowance by increasing the amount for each child to 10s. instead of the ss. as at present—with a maximum War Veterans' allowance of £4 10s. per weelc. The additional cost for the first year of operation is estimated at £25,000. It will be noted that all these alterations benefit families with children and are proposed in pursuance of the Government's policy of doing everything possible to ensure maintenance of the home and family life and to free mothers from some of the difficulties they have experienced in the past. WAR EXPENSES ACCOUNT. , s We now come to the most important of these budgets—namely, the War Expenses Account. It will readily be appreciated that it is impossible to arrive at estimates of expenditure with any degree of accuracy, as so many unpredictable factors are involved. The war expenditure which came to charge last financial year was in fact less than half the amount estimated, the explanation of the difference in this case being the considerable delay which has been experienced in. the receipt of claims from overseas. For the current financial year provision requires to be made for a total of £69,700,000, including £5,600,000 repayment to the United Kingdom Government. This estimate is arrived at as follows : — Expenditure — £ Navy . . • • •• •• •• 4,200,000 Army .. .. •• 50,000,000 Air .. .. .. •• •• 9,900,000 Debt repayment (United Kingdom Government) 5,600,000 £69,700,000

Additional benefits.

War Expenses Account Estimates, 1941-42.

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