§ Lord HALEasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they expect to receive and publish the report of the Simpson Committee on Asbestos.
1845WA
Lord WALLACE of COSLANYI am informed by the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission, who also chairs the Advisory Committee, that the Committee is making good progress.
The question of the precise quantitative relationship between asbestos exposure and the incidence of asbestos-related disease is complex, and the Committee does not intend to report on this until its medical working group have finished their careful consideration of the evidence. But the Committee is mindful of the request by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Employment that any interim recommendations on which it is agreed should be submitted to the Health and Safety Commission and to the Secretary of State in advance of its final report. They are currently preparing recommendations for dealing with certain activities involving asbestos which present clear evidence of substantial risk, and the chairman expects the Committee to be able to submit a report to the Health and Safety Commission and Ministers on this in the near future. This report will then be published.