25. Mr. WORTHINGTON-EVANSasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he can modify the regulations so as to 19 permit the certificate of a secretary of an approved society to be accepted as sufficient evidence that an alien who has been resident in the United Kingdom for at least five years was in fact so resident and a member of a society on the 4th May, 1911, and entitled to full benefit under the National Insurance Act, without troubling the secretary to also obtain the declaration of the alien on Form A. S. 74?
§ Mr. MASTERMANIt is necessary that the auditors should have sufficient evidence that insured persons claiming to be regarded, for the purposes of the Insurance Act, as British subjects, and therefore to receive the advantages of the State Grant, satisfy the conditions of the Statute. No Regulations have been issued, or are required, on the subject, but Form A. S. 74 was issued to societies as indicating what will in most cases be the simplest method of satisfying the auditors' requirements. It is obvious that mere membership of a society during a period of five years is not sufficient proof of continuous residence, as the member might, in fact, have resided abroad during the greater part of that time. If, however, in a particular case, the records of the society give conclusive proof of continuous residence (apart from holidays and other short periods of temporary absence), a certificate from the secretary to that effect may be given instead of the form of declaration indicated in A. S. 74.