§ 20. Mr. Dempseyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the high accident rate in homes, he will increase the grant for home safety activities to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
§ Mr. WoodhouseMy right hon. Friend is considering a request which he has received from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents for an increase in the grant made by the Home Office towards the Society's home safety work.
§ Mr. DempseyWill the Minister bear in mind that, although twice as many accidents occur in the home as on the roads, the grant for home safety purposes up to the present time has really been a paltry sum? When he does consider it, will he see that the grant is stepped up to a realistic level so that we might save the country from some future tragedies in the home?
§ Mr. WoodhouseI cannot agree that the grant is at a paltry level. I should remind the House that this grant has always been made on the basis that the society working in this field should ultimately become self-supporting, but my right hon. Friend will bear in mind the comparison which the hon. Gentleman has made with the cost of road safety.
§ Sir J. DuncanIf there is to be an increase, is it to be directed to a par- 554 ticular part of the new programme for reducing accidents in the home?
§ Mr. WoodhouseThere has been no decision to that effect, nor indeed that there should be an increase, but my understanding is that it would be for general purposes and not for any specific kind of home accident.