§ 11. Mr. Nicholas Edwardsasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether, in his consultations on the recommendations of the Robens Report on Health and Safety at Work, special attention will be paid to the increasing fire risk in factories through use of inflammable materials.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithThe proposals for legislation on health and safety at work, about which my right hon. Friend will shortly be consulting interested organisations, will include provisions concerning control of fire risks arising from the use of flammable materials.
§ Mr. EdwardsIs my hon. Friend aware that, while consultations are of importance, the risks are present now? What action does he intend to take while consultations proceed to reduce the amount of inflammable materials used and to reduce the hazards?
§ Mr. SmithI am glad to tell my hon. Friend that new regulations on this subject will come into force later this month. For the first time there will be a major code of regulations dealing with the storage, handling and use of dangerously flammable liquids and gases. It is estimated that in all about 200,000 premises will be covered. This is a useful step in the interim before the implementation of the Robens proposals.
§ Mr. KinnockDoes the hon. Gentleman recognise that, by announcing in answer to his hon. Friend that new regulations are necessary to control fire hazards, he destroys one of the central presumptions of the Robens Report—namely, that we need less regulation? Is not his answer a condemnation of the present self-regulatory system?
§ Mr. SmithNo, I do not accept that. No one has ever pretended that under the Robens recommendations there will not be regulations. It is a question of better self-policing and rational use of forces. The regulations that I have mentioned will be harmonised with the other regulations which will be taken into account if and when the Robens proposals become law.