§ Mr. BROMFIELDasked the Minister of Health whether he is prepared to allow regional medical officers' fees paid by approved societies to be charged against the benefit fund account instead of against the administration account, in view of the fact that a large number of approved societies are on the border line in respect to administration, which fact has a tendency to prevent societies using the regional medical officers as often as they would do if the cost was borne by the benefit funds instead of, as now, by the administration account?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINNo, Sir. The fees in question are part of the administrative expenditure of approved societies, and must under the Act be charged to the administration account. An increase has been made, as from the present year, in the amount per member which societies may appropriate for purposes of administration, and I have no reason to think that the charges for references to the regional medical officers, which amount on the average to under a halfpenny per member per year, cannot be met in the proper way out of the administration account.