§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give an assurance that all newly established factories, which come to the notice of the Factory Inspectorate, will be inspected by an inspector of factories within two 385W months of such notice being received and recorded.
§ Mr. John GrantI am advised by the Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that the visiting of newly established factories notified to HMFI is accepted as one of the Inspectorate's high priorities. However, the time within which such a visit might take place must be related to other priority cases on the local inspector at the time. Normally a visit will be paid within two months and any such visits are paid before production begins. In many cases the local inspector will know of the proposed new factory and will have had discussions with the employer before he receives the official notification.
§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest estimated cost of the reorganisation of the Factory Inspectorate; what arrangements have been made, following reorganisation, to ensure newly established factories not notified to district factory inspectors, are notified and inspected by the Health and Safety Executive.
§ Mr. John GrantI am advised by the Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that the costs of the reorganisation of the Factory Inspectorate cannot be separated from the costs of the increases in the staff of the Inspectorate, its part in setting up the Health and Safety Executive, and the general costs of establishing the services newly required by the Health and Safety at Work, etc., Act 1974. The requirement for the notification of factories to the Health and Safety Executive is contained in Section 137 of the Factories Act 1961, which requires notification not less than one month before occupation begins. In the course of their inspection, factory inspectors have always been vigilant in discovering newly established factories which have not been notified. In the years 1971 to 1975, 360 informations were laid and 339 convictions obtained for failure to notify occupation of factories and commencement of building operations and works of engineering construction. Factory inspectors will continue to enforce these requirements.
§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many different 386W warrants have been prepared to appoint inspectors under the Health and Safety Act 1974; what has been the estimated cost on each occasion; when it is estimated the latest warrant will be issued; and if he will place a copy of the latest warrant in the Library.
§ Mr. John GrantThe Health and Safety Executive issued warrants to all inspectors appointed under the Health and Safety at Work, etc., Act 1974. Two main types of warrant were required—one for those inspectors with the power to prosecute under Section 39 and the other for those without those powers, and only one supplementary authority has been required. The issue of individual warrants is an interrelated administrative procedure and it is not possible to segregate the cost of preparation and issue from other related personnel procedures. The Executive plans to issue a new warrant to all inspectors by the end of the year as part of intended consolidation and reorganisation, including the integration of additional staff and responsibilities for the Executive.
I will arrange for a copy of the latest warrant, when it is available, to be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many additional inspectors will be allocated to construction inspection work, following the reorganisation of the Factory Inspectorate and the increase in construction areas from 15 to 21.
§ Mr. John GrantI am informed by the Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that an additional seven fully trained general inspectors will be allocated to construction inspection work immediately following reorganisation of the Factory Inspectorate. In addition four specialist construction engineering inspectors are being assigned to the field. An appropriate proportion of the new inspectors being recruited as a result of the promised increase, will be assigned to construction inspection work when their training is completed and we are recruiting further construction engineering inspectors.