§ Mr. Rossiasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will now collect statistics relating to injuries to schoolchildren caused by walking into glass doors and windows.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonDeplorable as such accidents are I do not think it would be justifiable on the evidence available to the Department to require schools and their authorities to collect and make these returns. Responsibility for the safety of schoolchildren rests with the schools and their authorities; and I believe these bodies to be generally alert to this hazard, both in the design and in the use of school buildings. All design decisions require a balance to be struck between a number of considerations, of which risk of injury is only one. Guidance on glazing is available and known to the qualified architects who design school buildings—as, for example, the British Standard Code of Practice CP152 "Glazing and Fixing of Glass for Buildings" which offers guidance on, among 377W other things, safety, with particular reference to buildings used predominantly by juveniles. I am aware of the current interest of the Building Research Establishment and the Health and Safety Executive in this subject generally; and shall consider the applicability to schools of any findings that may emerge.