§ Mr. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the maximum current annual quota of factory inspectorate new recruits; and if he will ensure that the capacity for training recruits is not an artificial barrier to recruitment.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe Health and Safety Executive estimates that it is possible at maximum to train 90 newly recruited factory and agricultural inspectors effectively each year.
There have been two competitions per annum in recent years to enable planned targets to be met. The rate at which new inspectors can be absorbed into the system is determined not only by institutional training capacity but also by the time of qualified inspectors taken up in training them on the job.