§ 1. Mr. TINKERasked the Secretary for Mines whether he will state the collieries in Lancashire where the number of accidents have exceeded the average for the county during 1933; and whether he will give the name of the colliery where the highest number of accidents occurred during the same period, giving separate figures of fatal and non-fatal accidents?
§ The SECRETARY for MINES (Mr. Ernest Brown)The information asked for by the hon. Member is not available. It could only be obtained by calculating the death and accident rates on some comparable basis, such as shifts worked or tonnage raised, for each colliery individually, and this would involve an expenditure of time and labour that I do not feel would be justified. Further, the accident rates for individual collieries fluctuate considerably from year to year, and a comparison of the rates for a single year is liable to be misleading.
§ Mr. TINKERIs not the point worthy of consideration? I believe it would draw attention to collieries where the accident rate is high and might help to reduce them.