Clause
3
Short
title, commencement and
extent
Question
proposed, That the clause stand part of the
Bill.
Andrew
Selous:
We have touched on the issue of publicity, which
my hon. Friend the Member for Poole mentioned in particular, but I
should like to deal with it briefly. Given that clause 3 deals
with the commencement of the Act and states in subsection (2) that it
should come
“into force
at the end of the period of three months beginning with the day on
which it is passed”,
that
three month period would be an apposite time to ensure that the
publicity mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Poole takes place.
In general, I am not a fan of massively increasing the
Government’s advertising budget, but the Health and Safety
Executive has a website and makes regular publications to a wide
section of industry. I should be grateful if the right hon. Gentleman
let the Committee know how it is intended to spread the message about
the Bill’s implications if it becomes an Act and what employers
must do to ensure that they do not fall foul of the law.
Keith
Hill:
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that
proposal. I will work with the Government and other interested parties
to secure maximum publicity. There is the will to do that, and I will
keep him up to
speed on the progress that we make in spreading the message, as he puts
it, just as I will keep him up to date on sentencing
guidelines.
Question
put and agreed to.
Clause 3 ordered to stand
part of the
Bill.
Schedules
1 to 3 agreed
to.
Question
proposed, That the Chairman do report the Bill to the
House.
Keith
Hill:
May I draw the proceedings to a close by repeating
my thanks to you, Mr. Pope, for the truly magisterial
fashion in which you have presided over our proceedings? I thank
Opposition Members for their extremely constructive and consensual
approach to this
matter, and I thank all my hon. Friends and the Minister for their
support and attendance. We shall consign the measure to another place,
but we should remember that the health and safety legislation has
proved amazingly successful and durable over the period, and as a
Committee, we can pride ourselves on how we have made a little bit of
history.
The
Chairman:
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for
his kind remarks and for his mention of Judge Judge. It was for fear of
a similar fate that I did not enter the Catholic clergy.
Bill to be reported, without
amendment.
Committee
rose at seven minutes to Eleven
o’clock.
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