§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he accepts the comment contained in the six-monthly report of the area south pilot scheme of the Factory Inspectorate that there is little benefit to be seen from the change and that in many ways standards have deteriorated; and if he will make a statement.
(2) if, in the light of the two reports now received from the trial areas based at Slough and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he will abandon proposals for reorganisation of the Factory Inspectorate as outlined in Report No. 1 (Revised)
(3) if he is satisfied that the authorising warrants issued for Her Majesty's Inspectors of Health and Safety under the authority of Mr. John Lock and numbered LP10 empower inspectors to serve improvement and prohibition notices under Sections 21 and 22 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974;
(4) whether improvement or prohibition notices are being issued under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 by Her Majesty's Health and Safety Inspectors under existing warrants;
(5) if he is satisfied that authorising warrants issued to Her Majesty's Inspectors of Health and Safety must conform to Section 19(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, specifying which of the powers are conferred on inspectors by the relevant statutory provisions.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThese are matters for the Health and Safety Commission, and I am asking the chairman to write to my hon. Friend.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will place in the Library copies of the two reports prepared by the superintending inspectors in charge of each of the trial Factory Inspectorate areas based on Slough and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission advises me that these reports are only two of a number of internal working 119W papers prepared in connection with the assessment of the two trial areas and that he believes it inappropriate to make them available in the manner suggested.