§ 49. Mr. Crouchasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will introduce regulations to safeguard the health of those engaged in saturation diving.
§ Mr. VarleyRegulations providing for the safety of divers operating in connection with offshore installations on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf were made on 22nd July 1974, and will come into operation on 1st January 1975. Provisions are included relating to saturation diving; this may not take place unless the techniques to be used and the procedures to be followed have been notified to, and approved by me, and diving contractors have obtained my approval for any decompression tables that they propose to use.
I also intend to bring before the House legislation enabling me to control the safety of diving operations connected with the laying and maintenance of submarine pipelines.
EMPLOYMENT OFFICE AREAS: ESSEX Employees at mid-year Estimated numbers of employees in employment Unemployed Males Females Males Females June 1964 … … … 233,000 135,000 2,955 723 June 1971(a) … … … 239,000 160,000 9,688 1,399 June 1971(b) … … … 268,000 167,000 June 1973 … … … 271,000 183,000 7,486 1,091 The estimates of employees in employment for June 1971(a) and June 1964 are based on counts of national insurance cards. For these years the estimates do not include a small proportion of employees who cannot be allocated to local areas. The figures for June 1971(b) and June 1973 are from the annual censuses of employment.
The unemployed at October Number Percentage rate* Males Females Males Females October 1964 … … … 3,606 1,057 1.5 0.8 October 1974 … … … 9,271 1,797 3.3 1.0 *The number unemployed at October expressed as a percentage of the total number of employees, including the unemployed, at June. The rates relate to a group of travel-to-work areas which bear a close relationship to the county area.