§ Mr. Harold WalkerI beg to move Amendment No. 71, in page 18, line 3, after 'persons', insert 'having suitable qualifications'.
Many people have commented that the new health and safety organisation will need more, and more highly qualified, inspectors. We think that, in this subsection which empowers enforcing authorities to appoint inspectors, we should make clear that quality is quite as important as quantity.
Mines inspectors already have to conform to the high standards laid down by the Mining Qualifications Board. It may be appropriate for enforcing authorities to draw up similar qualifying standards for other specialist inspectors, and we hope that this amendment will encourage them to do so.
§ Mr. Michael LathamI should like to welcome this amendment, which arises from discussion in Committee, and say that one hopes that, while people with 392 suitable qualifications are employed, the people with the right qualifications will be sent to inspect the right things, and that if local authorities take over new duties they will take on the right people for the right jobs, for the reasons which I advanced in Committee but which I shall not repeat now.
§ Amendment agreed to.