§ Mr. Brooksasked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether there are any recognised hours of work for the horse inspectors in coal mines; what are the number of collieries or size of district that one man is supposed to cover; how often the horses are inspected in 12 months; and do these men work under the chief inspector of mines in their particular district?
§ Mr. T. SmithHorse inspectors for mines are stationed in the coalfields according to the number of horses employed, and work under the Divisional and Senior Inspectors, visiting one or more mines daily, but their hours of work necessarily vary according to the situation and size of the mines to be visited and the amount of work at each. At 30th June, 1941, 27,559 horses were employed at 871 mines, and during 1941 the horse inspectors made 2,493 inspections at these mines and 51,375 examinations of the horses.