§ Lord CHARLES BERESFORDasked whether boys in the Navy and Army have to pay the same amount of contribution under the National Insurance Bill, namely, 1½d., as men who receive larger wages; whether the boys receive less benefits than the men up to the age of eighteen, leaving the boys of both Services in the position of paying the same contribution as men, though their wages are less, and receiving less for sick benefit; and, if so, whether he will take this into consideration with a view to reducing the contribution from the boys of both Services?
Mr. McKINNON WOODBoys between sixteen and eighteen in the Army and Navy will, like boys of the same age in civil employment, be required to make the same contributions as their elders. The benefits will be the same for these boys as for men, since in neither case is sickness benefit payable during service. As regards boys under sixteen, I will consider the matter before the Report stage, in view of the Amendments which have been made affecting the position of civilians under sixteen.
§ Colonel YATEIf soldiers from eighteen to twenty-five only get maternity expenses, what benefit will the Bill be to them?