§ Mr. DowdTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his Department's assessment of the likely effect of its regulations arising from the PPE directive on firms employing(a) more than 50 people and (b) fewer than 50 people; and what action his Department proposes in order to minimise the disadvantages to small businesses in particular, arising from the directive.
§ Mr. LeighThe Personal Protective Equipment Directive (89/686/EEC) removes technical barriers to trade arising from national regulations by creating a single regulatory regime. All firms in the sector, regardless of size, will be able to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the new rules. To minimise the difficulties which smaller businesses may face, in preparing for introduction of the provisions of this directive, the Government have decided that a period of 12 months will be allowed under the United Kingdom regulations before it will be necessary for them fully to comply with the new requirements.
§ Mr. DowdTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations his Department has received concerning the EC directive on personal protective equipment; how these representations have affected his Department's policy on the directive; and what his Department estimates to be the average cost per employee of those businesses having to comply with the regulations.
§ Mr. LeighThe Department has received many representations from industry and others on the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Directive (89/686/EEC). These views have been taken into account in the drafting of the United Kingdom regulations.
The Department has not been able to obtain the necessary information to determine compliance costs per employee for businesses affected by this directive, but these should be comparable with the costs of such businesses throughout the EC. United Kingdom businesses will have access to new markets as a result of this directive.