§ Mr. Ness Edwardsasked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he has considered setting up in each coalfield a health and 391W safety council, consisting of representatives of workmen, managements, His Majesty's inspectorate, workmen's examiners, and the medical service, charged with the duty of examining accident returns and recommending such steps as are necessary for reducing the accident rate; and if he has any statement to make thereon.
Major Lloyd GeorgeThe joint study of accident causation and its remedies, on a colliery or coalfield basis, has been a feature of the coal mining industry for many years. As current instances, I may cite the advisory committees which are meeting regularly in every coalfield to consider the best methods of supporting underground workings and of preventing accidents from falls of ground; and the joint committee in South Wales which is doing such excellent work in fostering the development of practical measures to suppress the dust which is the primary cause of pneumokoniosis. I am glad to have the opportunity of paying tribute to the good work done by these and similar bodies, and I will certainly consider, in consultation with my advisers and the representative bodies of the industry whether the same method of attack could be applied by mutual agreement to other aspects of accident prevention and health improvement.