§ 34. Mr. Dempseyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware of the small grant given for home safety activities to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents; and if he will increase the amount in future.
§ Mr. RentonMy right hon. Friend is making a grant of £1,500 to the Society during the current financial year and 1279 proposes to make a grant of the same amount in 1962–63. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland is making similar grants. These grants are intended to recognise the importance of the Society's home safety work and are not designed to finance any particular part of it.
§ Mr. DempseyDoes the Minister realise that for road safety committees, the Department grant-aids the Society to the extent of nearly £100,000, which, no doubt, is necessary? Is he aware, however, that more accidents occur in the home than on the roads but that all that the Society is offered for home safety measures is a paltry £3,000, to be divided between Scotland and England? Does not the Minister believe that the time has come when this amount should be brought up to a more realistic figure?
§ Mr. RentonNo, Sir. I do not think it right to make a comparison between the degree of Government help in respect of the two types of fatal accident. There is a great distinction between fatal accidents on the road and those in the home, more than half of which occur to people over the age of 75 and, as I said earlier, are largely due to falling down.