§ Lord ROBERT CECILasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether under the National Insurance Act a society which has less than 5,000 members, and which joins an association or becomes grouped, will have to transfer one-third of its existing or future surplus to the central financial committee of such association or the Insurance Committee; and, if not, what section of the Act frees such a society from this obligation?
§ Mr. MASTERMANThe Act does not operate so as to deprive any society, either now or in the future, of any surplus which 835W has accrued in respect of the operations of the society before the Act comes into operation, or of any surplus which may accrue in the future from the operations of the society outside the Act. So far as future surpluses arising under the Act are concerned, one-third of the surplus so accruing of any society with less than five thousand members will be available under certain conditions for making good three-quarters, or in some cases the whole, of the deficiencies arising in the same association or group. If the money so available is more than sufficient for the purpose the balance will be returned to the societies which contributed from their surpluses in proportion to their several contributions.