Control of Explosives (Hansard, 7 June 1991)

§ Mr. Wiggin
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the number of cases where explosives other than fireworks have caused accidents in the home in the past five years.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
Accurate figures are not available. In 1989, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones) drew my noble Friend's attention to an unfortunate accident in his constituency when a young boy was badly injured while playing with materials used in the home loading of ammunition.

§ Mr. Wiggin
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bear the extra cost to the police of carrying out inspections under the proposed control of explosives regulations.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
The cost of operating the statutory enforcement powers to be conferred on the police as a result of the proposed control of explosives regulations, which should not result in a significant additional burden upon police resources, will be met by police funding in the usual way.

§ Mr. Wiggin
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the number of cases in the last convenient period where explosives have been stolen from private homes.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
There is no legal requirement to report thefts of explosives. Accurate figures for thefts from private homes are not available, but five are known to have been reported by police since 1969.

§ Mr. Wiggin
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now postpone the control of explosives regulations to allow increased consultation time for the guidance notes to be fully studied by all interested parties.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
It is not normal practice for the Health and Safety Executive to consult on guidance notes. They represent an explanation of the regulations and advice on compliance. The proposed control of explosives regulations have been subject to full consultation. We see no need for postponement.

§ Mr. Wiggin
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long has been allowed for consultation on the form of the guidance notes applying to the new proposed control of explosives regulations; and what factors underlay the decision to set this length of time for consultation.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
No general consultation on draft guidance notes applying to the new proposed control of 355W explosives regulations has taken place. Draft guidance notes were sent to a number of organisations by the Health and Safety Executive on 3 May 1991. Comments were requested by 17 May 1991. This time was set to permit the guidance notes to be published prior to the draft regulations coming into force. However, important comments received after this date could be taken into account if printing schedules permitted.

§ Mr. Wiggin
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the case histories that led to the proposal by the Health and Safety Executive of new control of explosive regulations.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
The new proposed control of explosives regulations are part of the ongoing modernisation of the Explosives Act 1875 and related regulations. This forms part of the Health and Safety Commission's programme of work to review and reform existing legislation. So far a number of new explosives regulations have been made. The draft control of explosives regulations are the latest proposals. These proposals are not driven by particular case histories.