Mark Lazarowicz: Edinburgh North & Leith

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	EU Access to Ports Directive
	Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh, North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op): Will my right hon. Friend comment on the safety implications not just for people directly involved in loading and unloading activities, but elsewhere in ports and their vicinities? The port in my constituency does not have the commercial business that it once did, but a similar amount of other industrial activity, including retail activity, often goes on nearby. Does he agree that there are safety implications for those involved in other activities within the vicinity of ports? Mr. Denham (Southampton, Itchen) (Lab): My hon. Friend makes a good point, and I hope that he expands on it. Although I do not want to paint too rosy a picture of how things are structured at the moment, it is fairly clear where responsibility for health and safety matters lies with regard to employers and others. The directive introduces, in effect, artificial and bureaucratic arrangements for changing those structures and responsibilities. That is bound to lead to unclear lines of accountability and responsibility, and increased dangers in lots of different ways.

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	20th July 2005, Cols 468WH