§ 70 and 71. Mr. Ellis Smithasked the Minister of Labour (1) if he will ask Her Majesty's factory inspector to conduct an urgent investigation into why a large number of people suffer from pneumoconiosis in the pottery industry: and if he will consider what action should be taken to reduce this number;
(2) if he will make a statement on what action has been taken on the official survey conducted into the industrial conditions in the City of Stoke-on-Trent and in the pottery industry; and what further action is to be taken.
§ Mr. P. ThomasInquiry into the dusty conditions responsible for pneumoconiosis was a principal purpose of the recent survey. A committee comprising both sides of the industry and the factory inspectorate was charged with following up the survey. In an interim report, it has made recommendations about dust control appliances which have been circulated to every pottery firm in the country. The Committee is continuing its work and I am satisfied that this is the most effective way of making progress. I am glad to say that the number of newly diagnosed cases of pneumoconiosis in the industry is declining.