§ Mr. Muffasked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the observations of the county court judge for Hull, made on 15th January, on the 1286W administration of the Workmen's Compensation Act, and in favour of an amendment of the law; and will he state the number of cases referred by the Hull County Court to the medical referee, and the decisions resulting?
§ Sir J. AndersonI have seen a newspaper cutting from which the judge would appear to have expressed sympathy with the view that medical questions should be more generally settled by the judge rather than by the medical referee. Judge Stewart's recent Committee on Workmen's Compensation expressed the contrary view; and the matter will now be considered further by the Royal Commission. I am informed that in 1939 there were 114 references to medical referees from the Hull County Court. On many of these the referee's decision is in the form of a report on the condition of the workman, and it would be difficult to say, even after a detailed scrutiny of each case, precisely how far they were in favour of one side or the other; but I understand that, roughly speaking, 60 per cent. may be regarded as having been in favour of the workman.