§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the explanation for the payment of £2,796 for an exhibition stand never used on page 11 of the Health and Safety Executive accounts for 1979–80.
§ Mr. WaddingtonI am informed by the director-general of the Health and Safety Executive that the £2,796 represents the cost of site rental for an HSE area of the joint Government stand at the Offshore Europe Exhibition, Aberdeen in September 1979.
Changes in priorities within HSE after the initial decision to participate, which was taken early in 1979, led the Executive's withdrawal from participation on the 308W Government stand. No other Government participant wished to take over financial responsibility for the space and HSE was, therefore, obliged to pay its share of the stand rental. The space was therefore redistributed amongst and used by the other Government participants, without additional rental costs to them. HSE incurred no design, construction or other costs associated with the exhibition. Since this occasion, changes have been made to HSE's procedure to prevent a recurrence of this kind.