§ Mr. Priorasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were unemployed in February in the areas of the Lowestoft constituency in each of the last 10 years; and how many were under 21 years of age.
§ Mr. GoldingThe following table gives the information available for the employment office areas in the Lowestoft constituency in January 1978, the latest date for which the half-yearly age analysis is available, and for January in each of the previous nine years.
Statistics are available for those under 20 but not for those under 21 years of age.
children employed on farms in each of the last five years; and what advice, if any, he has sought and received from the Health and Safety Executive.
§ Mr. John GrantThe number of deaths to schoolchildren under age 16 working 189W on farms in Great Britain in each of the last five years was as follows:
1973 … … … 4 1974 … … … 5 1975 … … … 6 1976 … … … 5 1977 … … … 4 The number of fatal accidents to children on farms in Great Britain is of great concern to the Health and Safety Executive.
I am advised that the Agricultural Inspectorate devotes a considerable amount of its time and resources to this problem and that it has recently issued a revised farm safety leaflet relating to the employment of children on farms which is being widely distributed and publicised.
A new safety film showing hazardous situations on farms was produced for the executive in May 1977. The film, which is suitable for showing to parents, farmers, farmworkers and others and is particularly suitable for children, is being widely shown throughout the country.
The HSE effort during the EEC Farm Safety Week, held in May 1977, was exclusively concerned with highlighting the risks to children on farms and recommended safety measures.
Intensive action will be maintained by the Inspectorate in an effort to reduce this tragically high level of accidents.