§ Lord Wedderburn of Charltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in face of the extensive research cited by the European Commission for a different view (Memorandum 20th September 1990, COM(90) 317 final-SYN 295), any research findings support the conclusion in their consultative document of 1987 that there is "little evidence of adverse health effects" (other than disruption of sleep patterns and circadian rhythms) resulting from working at night or on shifts; and if so, what they are.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Employment (Viscount Ullswater)The available evidence, including that cited by the European Commission, on the health and safety effects of shift and night work was examined in a review commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This review has been carefully considered in the development of the Government's policy on the European Commission's proposal for a directive on working time. The evidence does not provide support on health and safety grounds for the restrictive across-the-board limits on working time currently proposed in this draft directive.
The HSE review of the evidence on the health and safety effects of night and shift work will be published shortly as Shiftwork, Health and Safety—An Overview of the Scientific Literature 1978–1990. A copy will be placed in the Library.