§ 50. Commander BELLAIRSasked the Prime Minister whether it is the custom to exempt. State undertakings from the Regulations made for public safety which are enforced with fines in the case of private undertakings; whether a Committee has reported that only 15 out of 172 buildings in Woolwich Arsenal comply with the Home Office Regulations as to the distance between magazines and other danger buildings, and between these buildings and private dwellings; and what action is proposed in view of the warnings of the Committee?
§ The DEPUTY-MINISTER of MUNITIONS (Mr. Kellaway)The answer to the first and second parts of the question is "Yes, Sir." As regards the third part, immediately on receipt of the Report the Minister appointed a Committee of Experts to consider the action to be taken on it, and the recommendations of that Committee are now being carried out. Very substantial reductions in the quantity of the explosives stored in the Arsenal have already been made and are continuing. Most of the dangerous buildings have been or are being cleared.