HC Deb 01 August 1972 vol 842 cc328-9
3. Mr. Michael McNair-Wilson

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has had with representatives of industry and the trade unions about the implementation of the code of practice on industrial noise; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Dudley Smith

All questions associated with the code are discussed in the Noise Sub-Committee of the Indus trial Health Advisory Committee, which prepared the code and on which the TUC and the CBI are fully represented.

Mr. McNair-Wilson

My hon. Friend must be aware that the Robens Report on Industrial Safety refers to the need, as Lord Robens and his Committee saw it, for legislation to control industrial noise. As more than 500,000 people work in environments with decibel levels of 90 or more, which is considered to be a hearing hazard area, may I ask my hon. Friend whether he is satisfied that the code, with its permissive content, is the right way of approaching this problem?

Mr. Smith

I am aware of what the Robens Committee said, and my hon. Friend knows that we welcome the report and are studying its implications. When I introduced the code of noise on behalf of my right hon. Friend I stressed that we did not rule out the use of legislation if the code did not prove efficacious. We have to see how it goes before we make a final decision. At the moment I am pleased that the code is getting a wide circulation and seems to have had a fairly good response.

Mr. Ashley

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the General and Municipal Workers' Union recently fought a case on behalf of one of its members who was deafened at work and that this resulted in an award to the individual of £1,250? Will the hon. Gentleman circulate this important information to all employers as an incentive to them to take action?

Mr. Smith

I do not think I can undertake to do what the hon. Gentleman requests. Compensation for industrial injuries is paid under the Industrial Injuries Acts for prescribed industrial diseases and the prescription of occupational hearing loss as an industrial disease is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services. Any individual may sue for damages if he feels that he has been wronged or harmed as a result of his employment.