§ Mr. WILESasked the Home Secretary whether, having regard to the decision of the House of Lords in the case of Smith v. the General Motor Cab Company, he proposes to introduce legislation to give taxicab drivers the same advantages which other workers have under the Workmen's Compensation Act?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLThe case referred to does not decide that taxicab drivers as such are not entitled to the benefits of the Compensation Act, but only that in the circumstances of the particular case the contract between the driver and the proprietor was not a contract of service. The question is entirely one of the nature of the contract. If it is a contract of service, the Act applies. To extend the Compensation Act to persons entering into contracts other than contracts of service would alter the whole character of the Act. The question of the nature of the contract between the taxicab driver and the owner will, no doubt, come under the consideration of the Committee which I have just appointed.