§ Mr. Campbellasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he is satisfied that the Gas Safety Regulations 1972 are adequately complied with and that the public are sufficiently informed about gas safety.
§ Dr. J. Dickson MabonPossible breaches of the Gas Safety Regulations 1972 are investigated by my Department. Since they came into force in December 1972 there have been 51 successful prosecutions. A further 18 prosecutions are pending, and 106 cases still under investigation. These figures demonstrate our concern that the regulations should be properly observed, and the Gas Safety (Rights of Entry) Regulations 1976 which come into force today will strengthen the powers of enforcement.
I welcome the efforts of the National Gas Consumers' Council and of the British Gas Corporation to alert the public to the importance of gas safety precautions, but I have decided that the Government ought to reinforce those efforts by a widespread publicity campaign of 420W their own. I have placed in the Library of the House copies of the explanatory leaflets and posters which we are accordingly making available to the public from today. They contain details of the regulations and advice on safety precautions. They are available from gas showrooms, regional gas consumer councils, citizens' advice bureaux and public libraries. It is my hope that the wide publicity afforded these regulations will increase public knowledge of and compliance with their requirements.