§ 43. Miss Harvie Andersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received to date from persons or bodies in Scotland about British Standard Time.
§ Mr. BuchanSince my right hon. Friend's Answer to the hon. Member for Perth and East Perthshire (Mr. MacArthur) on 26th March, representations have been received from two local authorities, two other representative organisations and two private individuals.—[Vol. 780, c. 305.]
§ Miss AndersonIs it not a fact that many educational interests, the whole building industry and the whole of Scottish agriculture have already made representations to the Minister? In view of 1322 the importance of all three considerations, will he not take urgent action to alter British Standard Time now?
§ Mr. BuchanWe are making an assessment of the position as it arose throughout the winter and during the spring. We will see what results are arrived at from that assessment. As has been recognised already, we feel on the whole that it is important to allow two winters to run before drawing any final conclusions.
§ Mr. William HamiltonHas the Scottish T.U.C. made further representations, or does it still adhere to the view that British Standard Time is acceptable?
§ Mr. BuchanI understand that both the T.U.C. and the other body in industry, the Scottish C.B.I., adhere to their earlier view on this.
§ Mr. MacArthurWill the hon. Gentleman bear in mind, in addition to the points of hardship put forward by my hon. Friend, that the number of accidents to schoolchildren during this first experimental period has increased in Scotland in the hours affected by the change of the clock? Will he not agree that one winter's experiment is sufficient?
§ Mr. BuchanIt is important to remember that there is also a fluctuation within those figures; for example, the number of fatal accidents was down. I think that we want to make a more careful assessment rather than the instant assessment that the hon. Gentleman has made.