HC Deb 24 April 1990 vol 171 cc148-9
10. Ms. Mowlam

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to extend health and safety protection at the workplace.

Mr. Nicholls

The Health and Safety Commission is responsible for bringing forward proposals for the progressive modernisation of health and safety legislation. Details of the commission's future legislative programme will be contained in its plan of work for 1990–91 and beyond, to be published shortly.

Ms. Mowlam

I thank the Minister for that answer. Obviously we are interested in 1990–91, but we are also interested in the record that went before. Given that the employment medical advisory service has cut the number of doctors from 78 to 47 and there have been 147 deaths in the construction industry, can the Minister tell us whether he is satisfied with the amount of funding that the Health and Safety Executive receives?

Mr. Nicholls

The figures for EMAS arise under a later question, but the hon. Lady asks primarily about funding. In recent years, requests by the Commission under the public expenditure survey have been met in full. How the commission decides to allocate resources in accordance with the sums for which it has asked is clearly a matter for the commission.

Mr. Paice

Rather than extending the already high standards of health and safety provisions in this country, is not it more important to ensure that equally high standards obtain throughout Europe? Those standards should be monitored effectively to ensure that European competition is fair and is not advantaged through exploitation of foreign workers.

Mr. Nicholls

I am sure that my hon. Friend is entirely right. One of the dimensions of being part of the European Community is phasing together approaches to health and safety that may not always be in kilter. We must take that into account and I will bear in mind the warning that my hon. Friend has given.

Mr. Tony Lloyd

Is the Minister aware that the internal review document of the Health and Safety Executive says that even if the short-term recruitment plans for the inspectorate are met it will still be 16 per cent. short of the numbers that it estimates necessary to meet all demands? It states: It seems unavoidable that for the foreseeable future the inspectorate will continue to have a considerably greater workload than it can cope with. In the light of that, how can the Minister hold to the view that he has already expressed to my hon. Friend the Member for Redcar (Ms. Mowlam)—that the Health and Safety Executive is responsible for its own budget? Clearly, the HSE did not ask for enough money and, as a result, the Government did not make enough money available to it.

Mr. Nicholls

I hesitate to say to the hon. Gentleman that he should have read that internal document more carefully, but it is a fair point for all that. The position is exactly as I said, that the bids made by HSE in recent years have been met in full. If the commission feels that, in the light of developments, more money is required, it will put forward that view. For the time being, the position is precisely as I described it.