§ 34. Mr. Shoreasked the Minister of Labour what progress has been made with the draft orders regulating the manufacture and import of carcinogenic substances; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GunterA revised draft of the Carcinogenic Substances Regulations was circulated to interested parties for comment in September. The replies are due by the end of this month. Those so far received are generally favourable.
§ Mr. ShoreWill my right hon. Friend tell the House something about the causes of delay in completing these Orders? If my memory is correct, this goes back to August, 1964, when the preliminary draft was first prepared. Can he say whether these Orders when issued will include alpha-naphthylamine in its pure as well as its impure form?
§ Mr. GunterI am afraid I cannot answer the latter part of my hon. Friend's question. On the question about progress being slow in this matter, I have wondered myself. Consultations are taking place and have taken place with the various medical interests, the manufacturing interests and the trade unions, and we have found that they have had to allow reasonable time to consider our proposals.