It has to be borne in mind that the provisions made by the Unemployment Insurance Acts of December, 1920, March, 1921, and July, 1921, are temporary only, and not part of the normal State scheme. The Act of March, 1921, authorizes the Treasury to advance moneys to the Unemployment Fund up to ten million pounds; this was increased to twenty million pounds by the Act of July, 1921. It has been necessary for the Treasury to make advances to enable the Fund to pay the benefits: the amount owing by the Fund to the Treasury on December 31, 1921, was approximately eight million pounds. Temporary Provision for Dependents’ Act of November, 1921 As part of the temporary emergency programme of the Government to alleviate the abnormal unemployment existing in the autumn of 1921, the Unemployed Workers’ Dependents (Temporary Provision) Act, 1921, was passed on November 9, which made provision for the payment of allowances to the wives and dependent children of unemployed workers who were in receipt of benefit under the Unemployment Insurance Acts. This provision, as made by this Act, was for a period of six months only—to end on May 7, 1922. The Dependents Act provided that persons who were liable to be insured under the Unemployment Insurance Acts and their employers should, for a period of six months from November 7, 1921 (which period might be extended in the event of any deficiency occurring in the Fund) pay additional contributions for the purpose of creating a Fund separate and distinct from the Unemployment Fund, out of which allowances for dependents would be paid. To the contributions of employer and employed, the State made an addition. -------+-----------+-----------+------------- |Employer’s |Employee’s | State | Share. | Share. |Contribution. -------+-----------+-----------+------------- Men | 2_d._ | 2_d._ | 3_d._ Women }| | | Boys }| 1_d._ | 1_d._ | 2_d._ Girls }| | | -------+-----------+-----------+------------- Grants were made at the rate of 5_s._ per week for a wife and 1_s._ a week for each dependent child. Temporary Act of April, 1922