§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make it his policy to grant a general exemption to the British Sikh community from the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythWe have given careful consideration to the representations that have been made for a complete exemption for Sikhs from health and safety requirements to wear head protection. Any exemption would be contrary to the EC directive on personal protective equipment, which the 1992 regulations implement. Attempts to secure a derogation from the directive failed in 1989 as the United Kingdom was unable to obtain the support of other member states. Now this directive is in force, the only way an exemption could be granted would be if the European Commission were to put forward an amending directive. This seems unlikely given the earlier lack of support from other member states.