HC Deb 10 April 1989 vol 150 cc376-7W
Mr. Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he intends to place a duty on Welsh district councils for each authority to appoint a home safety officer to tackle the problem of accidents in Welsh homes.

Mr. Grist

No. Home safety officers who are appointed by local authorities make an important contribution to accident prevention, but it is for an individual local authority to decide whether such an appointment is appropriate for any accident prevention strategy in its own area.

Mr. Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he plans to place a mandatory duty on Welsh local authorities to devise preventive measures to reduce the level of accidents in Welsh homes.

Mr. Grist

No. Welsh local authorities already have a statutory duty to enforce the safety legislation. They also engage in other accident prevention initiatives but decisions on what is appropriate or desirable in each area should be taken by the local authority itself in the light of local circumstances.

Mr. Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what education or training initiatives he is planning to reduce the level of fatal and other serious accidents in Welsh homes.

Mr. Grist

Since 1987 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has run a series of safety awareness and education campaigns throughout the United Kingdom. These have included child safety initiatives; electrical safety awareness and, in particular, promoting the use of RCDs (residual current devices) and the publication of a guide to producing better instructions and warnings for consumer products. In Wales these campaigns have benefited greatly from the support of the Welsh local authorities. Some of the campaigns will be extended or repeated and over the next few months a number of further safety initiatives are planned.