§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the European Commission proposals for(a) inflatable and (b) non-inflatable lifejackets.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe European Commission's proposals for inflatable and non-inflatable lifejackets are set out in the European Council directive 89/086/EEC, a copy of which is available in the Library.
§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the United Kingdom proposals for lifejackets.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe United Kingdom requirements for lifejackets are contained in the International Maritime Organisation's safety of life at sea—SOLAS—convention 1974, as amended, and the Merchant Shipping (Life Saving Appliances) Regulations 1986. For non-SOLAS ships the British standard for lifejackets—BS 3595:1981 may, under specific circumstances, be accepted as an equivalent. Copies of each of these documents have been placed in the Library.
§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the representations he has received and made about the European Commission's lifejackets proposals.
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§ Mr. McLoughlinResponsibility for the European Commission's directive on lifejackets lies with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. My Department, along with other organisations within the United Kingdom, provides input to the relevant British standards technical committee, which represent the United Kingdom's interest in the appropriate European Commission's Comitê Europêen de Normalisation—European Committee for Standardisation—technical committee 162.