§ MR. COCHRANE (Ayrshire, K)To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he can furnish information showing what will be the estimated additional cost of insurance in the coal, ironstone, mining, engineering, shipbuilding, and textile industries, respectively, resulting from the reduction of the qualifying period in Clause 1 of the Workmen's Compensation Bill from fourteen days to seven days, with a provision that where the disablement prevents the workman from earning full wages for a period of fourteen days the employer shall be liable to pay compensation for the whole period of such disablement, starting from the commencement.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) The estimates which have been put before me are as follows, but, as I explained to the hon. Member last Thursday,† several considerations make it difficult, if not impossible, to arrive at trustworthy conclusions:—
| Coal mining | 21–44 per cent, (not including increase in administrative expenses). |
| Ironstone mining | 25 per cent. |
| Engineering | 47 per cent. |
| Shipbuilding | 40 per cent. |
| Textile industries | 39¾ per cent.* |
§ * Since my answer of last Thursday the estimate for textile industries has been corrected by the inclusion of fatal accidents. The estimates then given for this industry now appear as follows:—
| Reduction of 14 days to 3. | Reduction of 14 days to 7. | |
| Textile industries | 33 percent. | 28½ per cent. |
† See Col. 394, et seq.