§ Mr. RaynsfordTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to investigate the incident affecting the Jubilee line extension project which has caused the closure of Westminster underground station.
§ Mr. OppenheimInspectors from the Health and Safety Executive have already commenced an investigation into the incident at Westminster underground station on 31 October.
§ Mr. RaynsfordTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will now investigate the safety of both the Jubilee line extension and Heathrow express projects.
§ Mr. OppenheimOn 27 October the Health and Safety Commission announced that it had asked the Health and Safety Executive to investigate the partial collapse of tunnels under construction at Heathrow airport. The tunnelling technique being used, the new austrian tunnelling method—NATM—has also been adopted for use on part 'of the Jubilee line extension project; contractors have suspended the use of the NATM technique as a precautionary measure. HSE has asked for tunnelling not to re—start at Heathrow or on the Jubilee line until it is clear that this can be done safely.
Apart from NATM, HSE will continue to address health and safety matters in connection with other aspects of work on both projects as part of its general programme of inspection visits.