§ 2.47 p.m.
§ LORD DOUGLAS OF BARLOCHMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have considered the decision in the case of Close v. Steel Company of Wales Ltd. that Section 14 (1) of the Factories Act, 1937, does not impose on employers a duty to protect a workman from injury caused by ejected or flying pieces of the machine itself or of the material on which the machine is working; and whether they propose to introduce legislation to remedy this weakness in the Act.]
§ LORD NEWTONMy Lords, my right honourable friend the Minister of Labour has recently completed a detailed inquiry into the incidence and seriousness of these kinds of accidents. He has concluded that he would not be justified in introducing legislation to amend the Act. He is, however, proposing to make regulations under his powers in the Act to require precautions to be taken against some particular hazards of this nature.
§ LORD DOUGLAS OF BARLOCHMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord when these regulations will be laid?
§ LORD NEWTONMy Lords, I am afraid I do not know when they will be laid; they have not yet been made.