Post Office Users' National Council

HC Deb 08 March 1979 vol 963 cc789-90W

Mr. Crockcroft

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection how many vacancies there are on the Post Office Users National Council.

Mr. Maclennan

The Post Office Users' National Council is at present eight members below the statutory maximum.

Mr. Cockcroft

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection which bodies he has consulted in the past

FIREWORK INJURIES IN SCOTLAND
Four-week period in October-November
	YEAR	1978	1977	1976	1975	1974	1973
	TOTAL	41	24	22	38	44	63
PLACE OF ACCIDENT
1	Family or private party	14	3	4	3	5	13
2	Public or semi-public	11	6	6	4	7	7
3	Casual incident in street, etc.	14	10	6	17	18	26
4	Other place	2	1	5	4	5	9
5	Unspecified place	4	1	10	9	8
6	Indoors*	—	—	—	—	—	—
TYPE OF FIREWORK
1	Banger	2	4	6	12	9	23
2	Rocket	11	5	6	6	9	11
3	Roman candle, coloured fire, etc.†	7	1	—	2	8	14
4	Home-made or extracted powder	—	1	—	3	2	2
5	Other proprietary fireworks of which:	4	2	—	3	5	2
	5.1 Jumping cracker‡	—	—	—	—	1	1
	5.2 Other flyabout§	—	1	—	2	2
6	Sparklers||	1	—
7	Unspecified type	16	11	10	12	11	11
SEVERITY OF INJURY
1	Fatal injury	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	Detained more than one night	3	6	3	3	8	4
3	Sufficient to cause absence from work or equivalent	2	1	6	3	6	10
4	4 Minor injury	36	16	13	30	29	46
5	5 Unspecified injury	—	1	—	2	1	3
AGE GROUP OF INJURED PERSONS
	Over 21	9	4	3	6	3	7
	16–20	2	2	—	3	1	4
	13–16	10	5	4	9	10	17
	Under 13	20	13	15	20	30	35
	EYE INJURIES	13	8	6		11	20
* Included in "other place" prior to 1978.
† Previously listed as "display fireworks".
‡ Jumping crackers were not sold from 1976.
§ Included in "other proprietary fireworks" from 1978.
|| Included in "other proprietary fireworks" prior to 1978.
.. Not separately available.

year under the terms of the Post Office Act, section 14(2)(c) about the appointment of members of the Post Office Users National Council.

Mr. Maclennan

The list of potential members of the nationalised industries consumer councils is drawn from a wide range of sources. In appointing members of the Post Office Users National Council, I have drawn in particular on the nominations made by bodies representative of the ordinary user, industry, commerce, local government, women's organisations, the aged and the disabled.