BRITISH SUMMER TIME (Hansard, 23 June 1969)

§ LORD ILFORD
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

§ THE MINISTER OF STATE, HOME OFFICE, (LORD STONHAM)
My Lords, the Act so provides. As my right honourable friend the Home Secretary said, an interim assessment has been made based on a study of road accident figures and of the available statistics of accidents in industry and agriculture during the past winter. The views volunteered by representative organisations have also been examined, together with correspondence from members of the public.
The difficulties which emerged were foreseen and taken into account during the passage of the British Standard Time Act, which envisages a review after the experience of two winters. The evidence available at this stage is not conclusive, although the fears expressed about road accidents have, happily, not been borne out. The Government therefore propose to continue, as intended, with a comprehensive review of advantages and disadvantages based on the experience of two winters, and this review, which will include a social survey, will take place after the winter of 1969–70.

§ LORD ILFORD
My Lords, I am obliged to the noble Lord for that full reply. May I ask whether he will bear in mind that, apart from these official investigations, there is a very large number of ordinary persons to whom summer time in winter is quite unacceptable?

§ LORD STONHAM
My Lords, apart from the organisations which I have mentioned, which included the National Farmers' Union, the building trades organisations and the Union of Post Office Workers, I have received some 550 letters, many of them from Members of Parliament, and to all those letters I have myself attended. There have also been representations from 48 local authorities, 39 trade unions and other organisations, and I do not think it likely that 6 we are going to overlook any facet of this very important subject.

§ LORD CARRINGTON
My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord this question? He said that the views of the general public and of voluntary organisations had been received. Can he say whether the majority were in favour of or against the experiment?

§ LORD STONHAM
My Lords, I cannot give that information. I think that, in the main, we had representations from organisations who opposed. So far as the 550 letters are concerned, they included 40 who were in favour of the scheme.

§ BARONESS HORSBRUGH
My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that there is a unanimous opinion in Scotland against this new time?

§ LORD STONHAM
No, my Lords, I am not aware of that. It is not the case that there is unanimous opinion against the scheme. When one analyses the accident figures the quite surprising fact is that from the end of October, 1968, to February 18 this year there were 345 fewer accidents in Scotland than in the corresponding period of the previous year. In fact, accident-wise, Scotland appears to be more fortunate than South-East England. Therefore I am not aware of what the noble Baroness said.

§ BARONESS HORSBRUGH
My Lords, is it not the case that the parents now have to accompany their children, in order to prevent accidents? Is that not what is happening?

§ LORD STONHAM
My Lords, I assure your Lordships that we are going very carefully into this matter and that all the facts will be put before Parliament when a case is decided. This is not a Party political matter. But it was obvious—and we knew this before we began—that it was going to affect some people more than others. I am aware of the fears of parents, but, so far, against the background of a sharp increase in accidents in January for which we cannot account, the accidents overall to children in the relevant times have not increased. That is important.

LORD INGLEWOOD
My Lords, the noble Lord mentioned the National Farmers' Union. Since agriculture is 7 very much concerned with this issue, as so much of the work at the beginning of the working day has to be done out of doors, can the noble Lord say whether the National Farmers' Union were in favour of this change or against it?

§ LORD STONHAM
My Lords, I am sorry if I did not make that clear. The representations of the National Farmers' Union were against a continuance of British Standard Time; but they were against it before ever it was enacted by Parliament. They gave estimates of the likely extra cost in overtime and other expenses, but those estimates have not been fully borne out. In fact, the extra cost to them and to the building trades has been less than was anticipated.

THE EARL OF MANSFIELD
My Lords, will the noble Lord confirm or deny that the great majority of the representations received from Scotland have been definitely against a continuance of this measure? Also, may I ask whether it is realised that scores of thousands of Scottish children have to go to school in darkness, which is not the case in England, because in the winter daylight comes much later in Scotland than in England? Finally, may I ask whether the noble Lord is aware of the great loss caused to agriculture through farm workers being unable to start work because of the condition of darkness, although they have to finish work at the same time, which means a great deal of overtime and extra expense to the farmers?

§ LORD STONHAM
Yes, my Lords. In answer to the first question which the noble Earl addressed to me, it is the case that of the representations from Scotland a very substantial majority have been against the continuance of British Standard Time. But I think it is fair to say that people are more likely to complain than to approve—at least, to the extent of writing about it. With regard to children going to school in darkness in Scotland, this was indeed always the case, and it is the southerners who are, as it were, enjoying this new experience. But I assure the noble Earl that all these factors were considered, and we had representations from educational authorities who were in favour of this change before we made it. What we have to do is to 8 consider all the effects, statistically and factually, and then decide in Parliament whether, on balance this three-year experiment ought to be brought to an end or continued.

§ VISCOUNT ADDISON
My Lords, would the noble Lord like to call attention to the fact that every hour of daylight lost in the morning means that an hour's daylight is gained the same evening?

§ LORD STONHAM
My Lords, this is perhaps the most enlightened House in the world, and I did not think it necessary to draw the attention of your Lordships to that inescapable and indisputable fact.