HC Deb 14 February 1924 vol 169 cc998-9
44. Mr. BAKER

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been drawn to the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923, Section 4, Sub-section (3) (b), which states that in the case of partial incapacity, if the maximum weekly payment would, had the incapacity been total incapacity, have amounted with such addition, if any, as is provided by Sub-section (2) of Section 4, to less than 25s., the weekly payment, in the case of partial incapacity, shall be a sum bearing the same proportion to the said difference as the said maximum weekly payment with such addition as aforesaid bears to the amount of the average weekly earnings of the workman before the accident; and whether, seeing that Section 4, Sub-section (3) (b), is not likely to be understood by the persons to whom it applies, he will consider the possibility of translating Section 4 into more easly intelligible language?

Mr. DAVIES

I am aware of the difficulty in the language of the Statute to which my hon. Friend refers. It is hoped to issue shortly a revised edition of the printed Home Office Memorandum on the Workmen's Compensation Acts, and an endeavour will be made in that Memorandum to set out the meaning of the provisions in question in as plain language as possible, and to illustrate their effects by concrete examples.