§ Mr. WEDGWOODasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, with reference to reported cases of lead poisoning, he could give any reason for the reduction last year of from 117 cases to fifty-eight cases in the china and earthenware industry, or for the increase in the coach-making industry of from seventy to ninety-five cases; and whether he had any official information showing that the closer supervision over the cleanliness of the workplaces and of the health of the workers had caused the improvement in the case of the pottery industry?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Masterman)It is difficult to say to what cause or causes the striking diminution in the number of lead cases in the Potteries is to be attributed, but the depression of trade in the earlier part of the year, the additional inspection provided, and the increased attention to the adoption of precautionary measures, have all contributed to the result. The Secretary of State, cannot assign any reason for the increase in the coach-making industry. This is one of the industries which has been selected for investigation when the pottery inquiry has been completed.