§ 36. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a further statement of the action taken since the Ronan Point disaster to ensure that all gas appliances are properly installed, and the action taken to prevent similar types of explosion.
§ Sir J. EdenYes. The following are the details of voluntary action taken by the gas contractors and the gas supply industry, as well as of statutory measures taken and in hand.
The voluntary association known as CORGI (the Confederation of Registered Gas Installers) was formed in 1970 with the support of the leading institutions, associations and trade unions concerned with this work as well as of the gas industry itself. The aim of CORGI is to promote the carrying out of gas installation work to safe and satisfactory standards. Membership has grown swiftly, and good progress has been made in CORGI's work.Codes of practice prepared under the auspices of the Institute of Gas Engineers in consultation with other interested bodies are published by the British Standards Institution and are under constant review.The gas industry is carrying out a safety check of all gas installations in the course of converting to natural gas. This, as was pointed out by the Morton Report of 1970, provides a unique opportunity for examining all existing installations. My Department has been concerned with rectifying certain weaknesses in the statutory position and the forthcoming gas legislation will make further provision relating to safety. An advanced stage has been reached with the preparation of regulations on installation work, and I intend to circulate these on a consultative basis in the very near future. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has strengthened the provisions in building regulations for the ventilating and flueing of fuel burning appliances.