§ MR. HOGANI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the regulations 1313 forbidding the blocking of gangways in theatres and other places of public amusement are being ignored, and that it has become a regular practice to place the seats so close together as to preclude the possibility of their occupants getting out in case of emergency; and whether, having regard to recent examples of the rapidity with which theatres are destroyed by fire, he can take any steps to enforce the strict observance of the precautionary regulations.
§ *THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (SIR M. WHITE RIDLEY,) Lancashire, BlackpoolI have made inquiry into this matter so far as concerns the Metropolis. I find that a strict observance of the regulations referred to is constantly enjoined on managers, and I have no reason to believe that they are being ignored. If the hon. Member will bring any specific complaint on the subject to the notice of the Lord Chamberlain or of the London County Council, he may be assured that immediate steps will be taken.