HC Deb 06 March 1963 vol 673 cc498-9
Mr. Whitelaw

I beg to move, in page 3, line 37, to leave out subsection (2) and to insert: (2) No dirt or refuse shall be allowed to accumulate in any part of premises to which this Act applies in which work, or through which pass, any of the persons employed to work in the premises; and the floors of, and any steps comprised in, any such part as aforesaid shall be cleaned not less than once a week by washing or, if it is effective and suitable, by sweeping or other method. (3) The Minister may by regulations made as respects premises to which this Act applies, or any class of such premises, require that, in addition to the taking of the steps whose taking is requisite to secure compliance with the last foregoing subsection, there shall be taken, for the purpose of securing the cleanliness of premises to which the regulations apply and of the furniture, furnishings and fittings therein, such steps as may be prescribed by the regulations. (4) Neither subsection (2) of this section nor anything in regulations under the last foregoing subsection shall be construed as being in derogation of the general obligation imposed by subsection (1) of this section. These subsections fulfil the undertaking which I gave in Standing Committee to write a substantive provision of this sort into the Bill. Subsection (2) provides that: No dirt or refuse shall be allowed to accumulate in any part of premises to which this Act applies", and that the floors and steps throughout the premises—this includes toilets and washing places—must either be washed weekly or kept clean by sweeping or some other effective and suitable method. This is similar to the corresponding provision in Section 1 of the Factories Act.

I do not think there is any need for me to comment on subsections (3) and (4). They are simply a slight modification of the present subsection (2) of Clause 4. There was a general desire in the Committee that a substantive provision of this sort should be written into the Bill, and I hope the House will accept the Amendment.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendment made: In page 3, line 44, at end insert: (5) Nothing in this section or in regulations thereunder shall apply to fuel storage premises which are wholly in the open, and in the case of such premises which are partly in the open, so much of them as is in the open shall, for the purposes of this section and of such regulations, be treated as not forming part of the premises.—[Mr. Whitelaw.]