HC Deb 20 January 1975 vol 884 c237W
Mr. Kenneth Clarke

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the inquiry which she has set up into the circumstances of the recent fire at Fairfield Old People's Home at Edwalton in Nottinghamshire will hear evidence in public; and, if so, when it expects to begin public hearings.

Mrs. Castle

The committee intends that hearings shall be in public, but reserves the right to sit in private should the chairman at any time deem this appropriate. The inquiry will open initially in London on Thursday, 30th January, and will then be adjourned until Monday, 17th February, when it will reopen in Nottingham for the hearing of evidence.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether she will publish the full terms of reference of the inquiry that she has set up into the circumstances of the recent fire at the Fairfield Old People's Home at Edwalton in Nottinghamshire.

Mrs. Castle

The full terms of reference are as followsTo inquire into the cause of the fire at Fairfield Home, Edwalton, Nottinghamshire, on Sunday, 15th December 1974, into the protection afforded against fire, and into the arrangements for the safety of residents and staff; and to report thereon.

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