§ Mr. HannamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services in view of the further outbreak of Legionnaire's disease at the BBC, what steps are being taken to make regular bacteriological monitoring and treatment of cooling towers compulsory.
§ Mrs. CurrieThe Health and Safety at Work etc. Act places a duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that employees and others who may be affected are not exposed to risks to their health. The Department's advice to health authorities is that in the absence of a quick test regular bacteriological monitoring is not appropriate unless legionella is suspected as a source412W Britain awaiting a hearing and the average time from lodgement of an appeal to the hearing in that quarter was 20.3 weeks. For the same period in Scotland there were 21,547 appeals awaiting a hearing and the average time from lodgement of an appeal to the hearing was 21.6 weeks. Appeals outstanding at June 1987 are shown in the table for each social security benefit for Scotland, England and Wales and Great Britain together with the average time between lodgement and hearing in each case.
I regret that it is not feasible to estimate the length of time it will take for all outstanding appeals in Great Britain and Scotland to be heard.
of infection. Together with the Health and Safety Executive and a number of professinal bodies we have issued guidance on the cleaning and disinfection of cooling towers which emphasises the need for regular maintenance.