§ Mr. HendersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate has been made of the cost to employers of complying with the Noise at Work Regulations 1989 in 1990 and 1991.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe Health and Safety Commission published a consultative document in 1987 on the draft Noise at Work Regulations. This included an assessment of the costs and benefits of the proposed regulations, which estimated their total cost to be between £240 million to £320 million, spread over a working lifetime. The main costs were likely to arise from the requirement for noise assessments—£20 million—personal protection programmes for those exposed to noise above 85 dB(A)—£127 million—and those for noise reduction measures for exposures above 90dB(A)—£85 million to £175 million.