HC Deb 17 January 1984 vol 71 cc212-4W
Mr. Gareth Wardell

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he is satisfied that people living near to notifiable installations of major hazards are adequately informed of the nature of the hazards which might affect them if control measures fail;

(2) if he is satisfied that people living near to notifiable installations of major hazards are adequately informed of what they should do in a major incident;

(3) if he is satisfied that people living near to notifiable installations of major hazards are adequately informed of the emergency arrangements which have been made in advance.

Mr. Peter Bottomley

I have been asked to reply.

Under the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Regulations, those people in the vicinity of installations where there is the greatest risk of a major accident must be informed by 1 January 1986 of the nature of the activity taking place, its associated hazards and what to do in an emergency.

Local emergency planning procedures have operated for some time, but the Government regard the new legislative arrangements as an important plank in the statutory framework for dealing with the consequences of industrial accidents. While there can be no complacency about the risk of major accidents, the arrangements are in line with the recommendations made by the Health and Safety Commission's Advisory Committee on Major Hazards in its various reports and will be subject to review. To this extent, the present position is regarded as satisfactory. It will be kept under review.

Mr. Gareth Wardell

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report a list of those liaison committees that exist for notifiable installations of major hazards.

Mr. Peter Bottomley

I have been asked to reply. As there is no statutory requirement for liaison committees to be established the information requested is not available.

Capital Expenditure by Welsh County Councils
£ thousand
Clwyd Dyfed Gwent Gwynedd Mid Glamorgan Powys South Glamorgan West Glamorgan
1979–80
Education 4,349 2,456 4,416 1,381 5,520 2,325 2,326 1,977
Personal Social Services 600 808 857 698 1,071 673 413 345
Transport 6,569 2,691 4,918 3,762 8,797 3,369 7,657 2,938
Fire 143 179 412 88 405 125 76 19
Other (non-Home Office) Services* 545 889 1,228 488 2,434 205 1,692 3,345
TOTAL 12,205 7,023 11,831 6,418 18,227 6,697 12,164 8,624
1980–81
Education 5,599 3,037 6,581 2,683 8,065 2,936 2,860 5,270
Personal Social Services 616 1,009 939 390 1,505 746 311 246
Transport 3,852 3,540 8,311 3,290 7,140 3,576 14,244 2,362
Fire 116 28 360 249 328 82 63 26
Other (non-Home Office) Services* 1,586 456 1,272 491 1,790 361 2,778 2,002
TOTAL 11,769 8,070 17,463 7,102 18,829 7,700 20,256 9,906
1981–82
Education 5,555 2,821 4,892 2,405 7,828 2,405 2,143 4,459
Personal Social Services 307 1,483 794 199 945 460 345 177
Transport 3,882 4,463 13,118 3,355 5,555 2,390 13,452 2,207
Fire 71 121 201 191 174 66 54 23
Other (non-Home Office) Services* 894 752 2,254 672 1,553 190 734 6,763
TOTAL 10,709 9,640 21,259 6,822 16,055 5,510 16,728 13,619
1982–83
Education 5,824 4,255 5,310 1,405 7,316 2,361 3,911 5,223
Personal Social Services 571 854 1,159 178 900 205 668 654
Transport 3,682 6,714 22,144 4,562 7,827 2,644 13,875 4,192
Fire 253 215 683 98 524 131 338 76
Other (non-Home Office) Services* 1,726 1,221 4,300 5,337 4,539 246 1,123 5,505
TOTAL 12,056 13,259 33,595 11,580 21,105 5,586 19,915 15,649

Mr. Gareth Wardell

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report, for the most recent available date, for each local authority area in Wales, the number of notifiable installations constituting a major hazard.

Mr. Peter Bottomley

I have been asked to reply.

By the end of December 1984 the numbers of installations notified to the Health and Safety Executive under the Notification of Installations Handling Hazardous Substances Regulations 1982 for each county in Wales were as follows:

Number
Clwyd 13
Dyfedd 14
Gwent 18
Gwynedd 10
Mid-Glamorgan 16
Powys 4
West-Glamorgan 23