§ MR. J. RAMSAY MACDONALD (Leicester)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 532 what steps he has taken to bring under the notice of the employers affected the provisions of No. 680 of the Statutory Rules and Orders of 1906, prohibiting the employment of young persons under the age of 16 in certain industries without a certificate of fitness, more particularly in the boot and shoe industry, so far as it is dealt with in the Order.
§ MR. GLADSTONEThe Order was sent to 346 representative associations of employers and of workers in the trades specified in the Order, including the federations and local associations of boot and shoe manufacturers, and the unions of boot and shoe operatives. About 800 copies were sent to the Press and to Public Departments. A large number of copies have been distributed to occupiers of workshops affected by the Factory Inspectors, who have also drawn attention to the requirement at their visits. Notice of the requirement will also appear in the new edition of the Abstract now in preparation—and special attention is to be drawn to it in a circular which will shortly be sent out to every factory and workshop occupier with a copy of the new Abstract and other papers.