§ Mr. Freesonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure a standard procedure for prompt liaison between fire services and local authority environmental health officers when asbestos hazards arise from fires such as the one at Claremont industrial estate, Cricklewood, London NW2 on 24 August.
§ Mr. MellorDetailed procedures for liaison between the fire and environmental health services must be decided by local authorities in the light of the particular circumstances. The Department has issued guidance to fire authorities on the dangers from asbestos and how to minimise them. Our officials will now discuss with the fire service, wider local authority interests and the Health and Safety Executive how this guidance might best be supplemented after the Cricklewood experience.