§ 46. Mrs. Mannasked the Prime Minister if he is aware of the divided responsibility for matters pertaining to accidents in the home, where the number of fatalities exceed those on the roads; and if he will appoint one Minister to be responsible for all aspects of safety in the home.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerI have been asked to reply.
There has been in existence since 1946 a Standing Inter-Departmental Committee on Accidents in the Home, which my right hon. and gallant Friend the Home Secretary assures my right hon. Friend is working satisfactorily.
While I can assure the hon. Member of my right hon. Friend's personal interest in this matter, he would not be prepared to adopt the suggestion of appointing one Minister with special responsibility.
§ Mrs. MannIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Minister of Works, acting for the Inter-Departmental Committee, knows nothing at all about the matter and confessed that to me a week ago? Is he further aware that the said Inter-Departmental Committee is not meeting and that it does not even know the Minister to whom it is responsible? In view of the shocking tragedies in Great Britain every day, is it not time that the House awoke to its responsibility in the matter?
§ Mr. ButlerI feel—and so does my right hon. Friend, to whom I mentioned the matter on his return—that the hon. 1808 Lady's Question will have done something to excite interest in this matter. That is a good thing, and if she will accept my right hon. Friend's personal interest in the matter, I will see that it is followed up and special attention paid to the question to which the hon. Lady attaches such importance.