§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what research is known to the Health and Safety Executive in relation to safety on fishing vessels;
(2) what research is known to the Health and Safety Executive in relation to safety on merchant navy vessels.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisI have been asked to reply, as safety of merchant ships and fishing vessels is one of my responsibilities.
740W935, c. 344], gave the following information:
I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that information on the full range of training courses for young people funded exclusively by industry is not available. The following table sets out the information that is available on training courses funded exclusively by Government and courses jointly funded by industry and Government together. In addition the Training Services Agency contributes about £11 million a year to employers through incentive grants for the training of young people. The particulars of these training courses and of the numbers of trainees involved are not readily available and their collection would require a disproportionate cost.
The Ship and Marine Technology Requirements Board has commissioned research in support of my Department's responsibilities for the safety of merchant ships and fishing vessels on such matters as stability, loading of bulk cargoes, the interaction affects of collisions and ship handling. In this connection I am placing a copy of the 1976/77 SMTRB Report in the Library. The Interdepartmental Committee on Marine Safety, under the chairmanship of my Department, has also been studying this question and intends to make available further information by the end of the year.