§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the Government will introduce legislation requiring the licensing of all premises on which dangerous materials are handled and stored.
§ Mr. WaddingtonI have been asked to reply.
No. Licensing is not necessarily the most effective means of ensuring safety. Controls on the handling and storage of dangerous materials are being broadly reviewed by the Health and Safety Commission as part of more broadly based initiatives to improve, where necessary, current standards of health and safety. It is intended that regulations proposed as a result of these reviews would apply to all work activities including storage.