§ 62. Mr. THORNEasked the Home Secretary whether he has received a report from the factory inspector in connection with the accidents at Earl's Court; whether the shoring holding up the concrete floor was knocked away too soon; whether the factory inspector inspected the tubular scaffolding before the accident took place; and whether there are any regulations governing the thickness of metal used in tubular scaffolding, taking into consideration the stress and strain and methods used in its erection?
§ Mr. LLOYDYes, Sir. The collapse of the concrete floor appears to have been due not to premature removal of the supporting structure but to unanticipated stress on the structure set up by vibration. The Factory Inspector had not examined it before the accident and the Regulations under the Factory Acts do not prescribe the thickness of metal to be used in such structures.