§ 44. Mr. Boydenasked the Minister of Labour how many industrial accidents have so far this year been reported to Her Majesty's Inspector of Factories; and how these figures compare with last year.
§ Mr. GodberThe latest available figures are those for the three months ended 31st March, 1964, in which 61,972 accidents were reported compared with 48,558 in the same period last year. Part of the increase is due to better accident reporting and part of it is because there were more people at work for longer hours in the first quarter of this year than in the same period last year. Until I have completed my further examination of these figures I cannot estimate the extent to which they show a real increase in the accident rate.