§ Mr. Harperasked the Minister of Power if he will give the figures for the last tenyears of people found to be suffering from pneumoconiosis in the Yorkshire coal field; and what percentage these figures represent of the total men employed.
§ Mr. WoodThe number of men in the Yorkshire Division in whom pneumoconiosis was diagnosed for the first time between 1953 and 1962, and the percentage that this represented of the total number employed in the division, are as follows.
122W
No. of men Percentage of total employed 1953 377 0.27 1954 406 0.29 1955 517 0.37 1956 1,036 0.75 1957 631 0.46 1958 587 0.43 1959 489 0.37 1960 647 0.53 1961 605 0.52 1962 518 (prov.) 0.45
§ Mr. Ness Edwardsasked the Minister of Power what has been the percentage rate of persons employed certified to be suffering from pneumoconiosis in the South Wales coalfields for the last 10 years.
§ Mr. WoodThe number of men in the South Western Division in whom pneumoconiosis was diagnosed for the first time between 1953 and 1962, and the percentage that this represented of the total number employed in the division, are as follows:
No. of men Percentage of total employed 1953 1,061 0.96 1954 921 0.84 1955 1,092 1.02 1956 1,093 1.03 1957 703 0.66 1958 766 0.74 1959 914 0.94 1960 1,085 1.22 1961 721 0.87 1962 516 (prov.) 0.64
§ Mr. T. Brownasked the Minister of Power, in view of the increase in the number of mineworkers found to be suffering from pneumoconiosis, what steps his Department are taking to arrest this upward tendency.
§ Mr. WoodThe published figures show that there are fewer, not more, men in whom the disease has been discovered for the first time, but the disease is still a most serious threat to health, and the National Coal Board and my Department continue to take steps to determine and eliminate its cause.