§ MR. HUGH LAWTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been drawn to the observations of several of His Majesty's inspectors of factories, including the chief inspector, upon the inadequate nature of the fines imposed by many benches of magistrates in respect of offences under the Factory Acts; and whether he can see his way to take any action in the matter.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Akers-Douglas.) I am aware of the observations of the inspectors on this subject which appear in the annual Report that has recently been submitted to me by the Chief Inspector of Factories and has been laid before Parliament. I agree that in some cases the penalties imposed appear to be inadequate, but the amount of the penalty, subject in certain instances to a statutory minimum, is left by the Factory Act to the discretion of the justices, and I do not think that there is any action I can usefully take in the matter. 360 I may add that there has been a gradual rise in recent years in the average amount of the penalties imposed under the Factory Act; the average fine in the year 1903 having been 19s. 6d., as against 12s. 1d. in 1896.