I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has taken, or will take, into consideration the propriety of appointing some women medical referees under the Workmen's Compensation Act which comes into force on the 1st July, especially in cases or districts where women are largely employed.

I am not aware that any necessity for such appointments has been found to exist under the Act of 1897, which applied to a large number of women employed in factories, but I shall be glad to take the matter into consideration.