§ MR. GROVE (West Ham, N.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to an accident which occurred last week at Liverpool Street Station, by which a man met his death by falling from a gantry not protected by a rail; and whether it is illegal to erect scaffolding above a certain height without sufficient protection; and, if it is, whether he will take steps to make such a practice penal?
§ MR. ASQUITHI have inquired into the case, and find that the accident occurred upon a staging erected by the Railway Company on their own property by contractors who were making a new roof for the station. The Board of Trade appears to have no jurisdiction in the matter, nor have the Local Authorities, whose power to regulate the height and structure of hoards and scaffolds is confined to those which are erected on or above public ways. It would thus seem that the law was not violated. I cannot at present undertake to legislate on the subject, but I may point out that if the Notice of Accidents Bill is passed all such occurrences will be liable to become the subject of public inquiry.