§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will outline the consultative processes to be initiated regarding the reorganisation of the Factory Inspectorate and the consequent closure of district offices.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI am informed by the Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that when the general principle to reorganise Her Majesty's Factory Inspectorate was approved the commission emphasised the need for local con-170W sultation during implementation. Area directors have been designated to each proposed area, and once detailed proposals have been formulated for a particular area the area director will approach the appropriate TUC regional council to discuss them. Within the Health and Safety executive area consultative committees have been formed which have the area director designate as chairman. The other members are nominated by the staff associations involved. A statement of agreement between official and staff sides of the Health and Safety Executive Whitley Council forms the basis for consultation at local and national levels. Negotiations are still taking place concerning the number of offices which may close and the location of area and local offices in a particular area. 171W Under these arrangements local consultations will play an important part in the implementation of reorganisation in each area.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what work has been carried out by the staff of Her Majesty's Factory Inspectorate who were responsible for the preparation and illustration of the publication Accidents since the last issue was produced two years ago.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe work in connection with the preparation ofAccidents represented a small proportion of the overall responsibilities of those staff of HMFI who were involved. Since the discontinuation of Accidents other work has expanded considerably and this has more than offset any saving in staff time resulting from the discontinuation of the publication.