I want to put these considerations to the Minister. I do not say my experience in this respect is unique. I think it is the experience of many Deputies in this House. I, in the course of my activities, deal with various kinds of cases. One thing that appals me is to see a man who can maintain himself and his wife and his family all right so long as he is working and living, leaving his wife and children without any adequate provision when he dies, very largely because he is not able to make such provision, the household demands being what they are—always hoping he will survive until his family are reared and educated and go into employment. But very often he is fallible in his hopes in that respect, with the result that if he dies his widow and orphans, deprived of his income and with no adequate insurance, are left to fend in any way they can. I have seen people, very respectable people while the breadwinner was alive, simply hawking their case from one charitable organisation to another, having been shocked into destitution by the bread-winner's death, hoping to get some relief here and there, wherever they can. I am sure the Minister could have these things verified by consultation with any charitable organisations.
My main concern in this matter is for the widows and orphans. If the husband does not regard the health side as a good bargain, it should be some consolation to him to know that he pays that price in order to cover his widow and children in the event of his death. It need not be a bad bargain for him on the health side; it may not be attractive, but it need not be a bad bargain. It is some provision whereby the widow and children can be covered, the widow and children getting an automatic right to a contributory pension in the same way as if the husband had insured for industrial insurance purposes. The insured person under the Widows and Orphans Pensions Act can get a cover for widows and orphans pensions purposes at a premium which no outside insurance company would accept.
The purpose of the amendment, therefore, is to help these people to make provision for widows and orphans. I cannot see why the Minister would decline to do it; to bring in these people will mean bringing in good economic units for insurance purposes, not uneconomic units for widows and orphans pension purposes. I know many people who would be glad to be insured for widows and orphans pensions, but they would be beyond the £400 limit. I urge the Minister to make provision for them by making them compulsorily insurable. I know that the widows and orphans will be glad if the Minister accepts this and I appeal to him to do so.
