§ Mr. TREVELYANasked the Home Secretary how many accidents, fatal or 304W otherwise, there have been in shipbuilding and ship-repairing yards in each year from 1912 to 1922, inclusive?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANThe total number of reported accidents in this industry in each of the years from 1912 to 1914 and from 1920 to 1922 was as follows: In 1912, 15,863; in 1913, 17,736; in 1914, 16,547; in 1920, 15,452; in 1921, 11,447; and in 1922, 7,744. The figure for 1922, however, does not include accidents in Irish yards, which are included in the figures of previous years. I regret that the numbers for the years 1915 to 1919 are not available. It will be seen that there was a large reduction in the number of accidents in 1921 and 1922, but I am afraid this is to be accounted for by the reduction in the amount of tonnage under construction, and in view of the serious number of accidents in this industry I am at present considering the desirability of instituting some special investigation into the moans necessary to secure a higher standard of safety.