13. Mr. A. Hoyleasked the Minister of Public Building and Works what proposals he has to strengthen the Agrément Board; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellishI have no reason to believe that the constitution or powers of the Board are in any way inadequate. It is, however, important that the advantages of Agrément certificates should become more widely known and I have agreed with the Board that it should now give further publicity to its work.
Mr. HoyleWill the Minister tell the House why the Board has issued only six certificates? Will he make the grant of an Agrément certificate grounds for exemption under the building regulations?
§ Mr. MellishIn fact, eight certificates have been issued, a further 21 products have been accepted for testing, of which seven are in the final stages, and a further 59 have been offered draft test contracts. This work is picking up. I hope to see the situation in which no new product which has not an Agrément certificate will be used by the industry. That is the situation at which I should like to arrive. But this Board has been operating for a very short time.