§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the Deregulation Bill construction task force;
(2) if he will make it his policy not to make any changes to the Fire Precautions Act 1971 until there has been a debate in the House; and if he will make a statement;
(3) if he will place in the Library a copy of the recommendations of the Home Office fire safety division to the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill contruction task force;
(4) which fire service organisations and local authority organisations were consulted by the construction task force before it produced its recommendations regarding deregulation of fire safety regulations.
§ Mr. Neil Hamilton[holding answer 28 June 1994]: The recommendations of all seven business deregulation task forces were published on 19 January and copies were placed in the Library of the House. The working papers on which their recommendations were based were placed in the Library of the House on 30 March.
615WThe construction industry task force held discussions with officials and Ministers in several Government Departments, including the Home Office. No discussions were held with fire service or local authority organisations because the nature of the task force exercise was to provide the Government with evidence of business concerns.
The fire safety review, announced by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade on 17 January, Official Report, column 381, explored issues identified by the task force and others. Publication of the report of this review was announced by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade on 22 June, Official Report, columns 228–29. The Government are committed to full consultation on the report with all interested parties and we have made it clear that no changes will be made to existing arrangements until these consultations are complete.
§ Mr. WareingTo ask the President of the Board of Trade when he will publish the recommendations of the construction industry deregulation task force; and if he will make a statement on the review of fire safety and enforcement carried out by the task force.
§ Mr. Neil Hamilton[holding answer 27 June 1994]: The recommendations of all seven business deregulation task forces were published on 19 January and copies were placed in the Library of the House. The working papers on which their recommendations were based were placed in the Library of the House on 30 March.
Publication of the review of fire safety legislation and enforcement was announced by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade on 22 June, Official Report, columns 228–29 and I have nothing further to add to his statement.