HC Deb 01 July 1954 vol 529 c1575
Mr. Joynson-Hicks

I beg to move, in page 30, line 20, to leave out subsection (2), and to insert: (2) It shall be the duty of the manager of every mine to take such steps as may be necessary for securing that he is at all material times in possession of all information relevant for determining the nature and extent of any steps which it is requisite for him to take in order to discharge efficiently the duty imposed on him by the foregoing subsection. This Clause imposes the duty to secure the safety of roads and working places. Subsection (2) provided a defence in legal proceedings for any alleged breach of subsection (1), but that defence is no longer required owing to the alteration which has been made in the new Clause which was introduced during the Committee stage, and which is now Clause 149. Therefore, that defence can come out of the Bill, and to that extent this Amendment is consequential.

I wanted to refer to it particularly because we have also changed round—and I think the House will approve—what was, in effect, an alternative form of defence, or part of the defence, and have made it into a duty imposed upon the manager to obtain all the relevant information in determining what needs to be done to keep the roads and working places secure. That means, in effect, that he has to know and apply the scientific principles of roof control.

Amendment agreed to.