HC Deb 03 July 1932 vol 156 cc137-9

Order for Second Reading read.

The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Sir John Baird)

I beg to move "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

This Bill is to give effect to the recommendations of a Departmental Committee which sat in 1913. I think that there will be general acquiescence in its terms, because the effect of it is to apply once more Regulations which were in force under the Defence of the Realm Act for securing safety in connection with celluloid. I have been asked several times in the course of the last year when I proposed to introduce legislation dealing with this matter. This Bill deals with the cases of places where raw celluloid is stored, and the premises of persons who let out cinematograph films. It does not deal with cinema theatres. They are dealt with under the Act of 1909. Nor does it deal with shops, because their case seems to be more appropriate to the general regulations for dealing with fire, which are now under the consideration of a Royal Commission. The way in which the Bill works is as follows: The premises to which the Bill applies must be notified to the local authority, and that local authority will have power to inspect them. The local authority will be empowered to require reasonable means of escape in the case of fire from the said premises, and the premises must be so constructed and situated as to minimise the danger to adjoining premises. Proper precautions, as set out in the Schedule, must be observed in workrooms and in store places. Those are the main provisions of the Bill. Factories are already dealt with by regulations under the Factories Acts. The Bill gives effect to what would have been an Act of Parliament if the War had not intervened.

Mr. FOOT

I see that under Clause 4 local authorities are required to see that the provisions of the Bill are complied with. What officers must be appointed for this purpose by the local authority, and are the expenses associated with the appointment of that officer to be placed on the shoulders of the local authority? It is well known that local authorities are making strong and bitter complaints about the additional expense placed on their shoulders from time to time. They complain that this House is constantly passing Measures which mean that their expenses go up and up, whether they like it or not. I suppose there is no escape for the local authority in bearing the expense of carrying out the provisions of this Bill? Which of the officers now employed by a local authority will be asked to see that the provisions of this Bill are carried out?

Sir J. BAIRD

As to expense the hon. Gentleman will notice in Sub-section (2) of Clause 4 that the expenses incurred are to be defrayed in the same manner as expenses incurred in the administration of the Public Health Acts.

Mr. FOOT

Those expenses are already borne by the local authority. This means adding to them?

Sir J. BAIRD

I should not like to say definitely whether the whole cost will fall on the local authority or whether this does not imply that a grant will be received. I cannot state definitely at this stage. These are all points which obviously will have to be settled in Committee. All I ask now is that the House approve the general principles of the Bill.

Mr. LAWSON

Does this Bill merely confirm what has been the practice during the War, or does it make more stringent the rules for the storing of films? I ask because I was a witness of a fire, during which there were some terrible scenes, as the result of an outbreak in a place where films had been stored. A basement was cut off and the people there had no hope of rescue. That was since the War. If thi6 Bill makes the rules more stringent it will ease the public mind.

Sir J. BAIRD

The Bill, generally, is based on the experiences gained in the course of the operation of Regulations under the Defence of the Realm Act. I suggest that details ought to be thrashed out in Committee. Whether or not the Regulations go far enough is a matter which can be established only when the regulations are discussed. We are all aware of the great danger surrounding the handling of films, and there can be no two opinions about the need of safeguarding those employed in the work and those who live in the neighbourhood against a conflagration which might start in such a factory or store. Details have been framed with a desire to meet a very important need, and we hope they will be regarded as adequate by those who have had experience in these matters.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill read a Second time, and committed to a Standing Committee.