§ Mr. J. Griffithsasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the last quarterly report of the Swansea port sanitary authority which states that 26 per cent. of British-owned ships were defective compared with 16 per cent. defective foreign ships; whether the reports of other port sanitary authorities revealed similar conditions; and what measures the Government propose to take to compel British shipowners to provide sanitary and other conveniences at least equal to those provided by foreign shipowners?
§ Mr. R. S. HudsonThe details in this report indicate that the figure for British ships quoted by the hon. Member relates almost entirely to cleaning and repairs which are necessary at the end of a voyage, and which are promptly carried out, and not to the lack of sanitary and other facilities. In this area, the sanitary inspections of British ships take place generally at the termination of voyages and not, as in the case of foreign ships, in the course of a voyage. The conditions 943W in the two cases are, therefore, not the same, and I do not accept the implication in the question. For the rest, I would draw the attention of the hon. Member to the new Crew Space Instructions recently issued by the Board of Trade, a copy of which I am sending to him. I would add that there is full co-operation between the Officers of the Port Health Authorities and the Surveyors of the Board of Trade.