§ Mr. Grimondasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he is satisfied with the safety precautions with regard to diving.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he is satisfied with existing safety procedures for divers in the North Sea; and if not, what changes he intends to introduce.
§ Mr. John SmithNo one can be satisfied as long as there continue to be diving fatalities in the North Sea. As the House well knows, each accident is carefully investigated, and the Senior Diving Inspector informs the diving industry both here and abroad of any lessons learned so that they can be applied quickly.
The House is also aware that the Offshore Installations (Diving Operations) Regulations 1974, which came into force on 1st January 1975, were the first offshore diving regulations in the world. The Norwegian Government are about to introduce diving regulations which copy these regulations. We fully appreciate the need to give greater cover to the safety of divers engaged in pipelaying operations. It is our intention to close this gap very soon, using the powers under the Petroleum and Submarine Pipelines Act 1975.