§ Mr. Loydenasked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the activity of field consultants groups is allocated to each of the general areas covered by the Factory Inspectorate; and if he is satisfied that the coverage of the United Kingdom by such groups is adequate.
197W
§ Mr. John GrantI am advised by the Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that seven field consultant groups are planned for Great Britain. Three have already begun work, three more will start in 1978 and the seventh will become operational when staff training is completed. The groups respond to demands made on them by inspectors working in the areas they serve, and have been staffed to meet this demand. No allocation of activities is therefore made to individual areas served. I am satisfied that the proposed coverage of Great Britain by the groups represent a reasonable proportion of total Factory Inspectorate activity.
§ Mr. Loydenasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied that the Merseyside Metropolitan and Cheshire areas are receiving an adequate proportion of the resources of the North-West Field Consultants Group of the Factory Inspectorate.
§ Mr. John GrantI am advised by the Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that the North-West Field Consultant Group serves three Factory Inspectorate areas, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and North-West. The group responds to demands made on it by those areas, and he is satisfied that requests from Merseyside are dealt with on the same basis as requests from the other two areas.