§ Mr. Oakesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) when he received the report of the Advisory Committee on Industrial Deafness; and what action he has taken on that report;
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of men and women totally or partially deaf by reason of their present or previous employment;
(3) if he will introduce legislation to prescribe deafness caused by the nature of employment as an industrial disease.
§ Mr. DeanThe Industrial Injuries Advisory Council have not yet reported on their inquiry into whether there are degrees of hearing loss attributable to exposure to noise in the course of employment which satisfy the requirements of Section 56(2) of the Industrial Injuries Act. I understand that their studies of the many complex problems involved are continuing. No doubt the Council's studies involve estimating the number of work people whose deafness292W may be due to noise at work. The question of prescription will be considered when the Council's report is received.