MR. J. W. WILSON (Worcestershire, N.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether in view of the fact that in the great majority of accidents included under the Act of 1897 compensation is being paid by employers without recourse to a county court or arbitrator, and that it consequently goes unrecorded, he will consider if it may be possible to obtain through the factory inspectors, who already receive notice of all serious accidents, a quarterly or annual Return from employers of the total sums so paid, and the duration of each such case of accident for statistical purposes.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Sir M. WHITE RIDLEY,) Lancashire, BlackpoolI am afraid that this suggestion cannot be carried out satisfactorily. An attempt to collect the statistics indicated would seriously impede the work of the factory inspectors, and as experience shows that 1376 Returns of this kind cannot be obtained from employers unless they are required by law to make them, it would at the same time fail to secure complete or accurate results. I entirely agree with the object of my hon. friend.