HC Deb 06 March 1941 vol 369 cc1028-30W
Mr. J. Hall

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that air-raid precautions wardens are making arrangements with owners of shops, etc., to keep a watch on their premises during raids for incendiary bombs; and whether the payment for this, which is an addendum to the wardens' pay, is made with official sanction?

Mr. H. Morrison

Arrangements of this nature with the owners of business premises have no official sanction and are strongly deprecated. I am sure that if made by occupiers, they should not be approved by the appropriate authority under the Fire Prevention (Business Premises) Order.

Mr. J. Hall

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that pressure is being brought to bear upon collectors engaged in weekly payment businesses to act as fire watchers of the offices which they attend daily for a few minutes to pay in their collections; and whether he will state how the order is to be interpreted and applied to this point?

Mr. Morrison

I was not aware of the position as stated in the first part of the Question. I appreciate, however, that in cases of the type described there may be grounds for doubt whether particular persons are persons who are working at the premises within the meaning of the Business Premises Order. If the appropriate authority regarded such persons as liable to perform duties under the order and took proceedings accordingly, it would be for the court to be satisfied that there were reasonable grounds for this view.

Mr. Levy

asked the Home Secretary whether he is satisfied that residential areas to which the compulsory fire-watching order has not yet been applied, especially those areas contiguous to important industrial districts, are being efficiently guarded against fire bombs by voluntary means; and whether he proposes to apply compulsion to private houses in any area or areas?

Mr. Morrison

I shall be making a statement later on this and other aspects of fire prevention and perhaps my hon. Friend will await that statement. As regards the last part of the Question there is no provision for the application of compulsion on individual householders to watch their own dwelling-houses but local authorities can be required to make arrangements covering their area as a whole (except for premises to which the business premises order applies) and these arrangements would of course apply to private houses.