§ Mr. HagueTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what progress he has made in implementing the recommendation of the Cullen report into the Piper Alpha disaster that responsibility for the regulation of offshore safety should be transferred to the Health and Safety Executive.
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§ Mr. WakehamI announced on 12 November,Official Report, column 330, the Government's acceptance of all the recommendations for improving offshore safety made by Lord Cullen in his report on the Piper Alpha disaster. These included the establishment of a single regulatory body to deal with offshore safety which, on balance, he recommended should be part of the Health and Safety Executive. It follows that the Health and Safety Commission will be responsible for taking forward Lord Cullen's other recommendations. I also announced in November that ministerial responsibility for offshore safety matters in Great Britain would, with the approval of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, be transferred to my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.
I am pleased to announce that, following the completion of the necessary detailed preparatory work, and with the agreement of the Health and Safety Commission, the staff of the offshore safety division of the Department of Energy, together with certain staff from the Department of Transport, will, with effect from 1 April 1991, be transferred to the HSE. They will form the core of a new division, which will be considerably strengthened to enable it to continue to enforce the existing regime for the regulation of offshore safety and to carry forward the successful development and implementation of changes recommended by Lord Cullen.
It is clear that a significant increase in the resources available to the HSE will be necessary to enable it to carry out its new responsibilities. Agreement has been reached on this with the HSC and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment, who will be assuming ministerial responsibility from the same date, will be seeking authority for the necessary additional resources by means of a supplementary estimate.