Friendly Societies Act 1896

2 Functions of the central office

(1) The central office shall continue to exercise the functions and powers formerly vested—

(a) as respects trade unions, in the registrar of friendly societies in England ; and

(b) as respects building societies, in the registrar of building societies in England; and

(c) as respects unincorporated benefit building societies, loan societies, and societies instituted for purposes of science literature or the fine arts, in the barristers appointed to certify the rules of savings banks or friendly societies,

and shall be entitled to receive all fees payable to those registrars and barristers; and all enactments relating to those registrars and barristers shall, so far as respects trade unions and such societies as aforesaid, be construed as applying to the central office.

(2) The central office shall, with the approval of the Treasury—

(a) prepare and cause to be circulated, for the use of societies, model forms of accounts, balance sheets, and valuations; and

(b) collect from the returns under this Act and from other sources, and publish and circulate, either generally or in any particular district, or otherwise make known, such information on the subject of the statistics of life and sickness, and the application thereof to the business of friendly societies, and such particulars of their returns and valuations, and such other information useful to the members of or to persons interested in societies registered or capable of being registered under this Act, as the chief registrar may think fit; and

(c) cause to be constructed and published tables for the payment of sums of money on death, in sickness, or old age, or on any other contingency forming the subject of an assurance authorised under this Act which may appear to be calculable: Provided that the adoption of the tables by a society shall be optional.