Records of the Health and Safety Division

Records reflecting the creating bodies' responsibilities in relation to health and safety in the mining industry, including the investigation of accidents, the testing of equipment, and the promotion and enforcement of health and safety regulations.

Records of the Safety and Health Division and Inspectorate of Mines and Quarries are in POWE 8 (which also includes records of the Health Advisory Committee), with registered files of the Division in POWE 75. Records of the Miners' Welfare Committee and Commission are in POWE 1

• Mines Department, Health and Safety Division, 1920-1942
• Ministry of Fuel and Power, Health and Safety Division, 1942-1946
• Ministry of Fuel and Power, Health, Safety and Training Division, 1946-1951
• Ministry of Fuel and Power, Safety and Health Division, 1951-1957
• Ministry of Power, Safety and Health Division, 1957-1969

Topics

Welfare

Coal

Mining and quarrying

Prior to 1920, responsibility for the safety and health of persons employed in coal mines was originally vested in the Secretary of State, Home Office, under 'An Act for the Inspection of Coal Mines in Great Britain' on 14 August 1850. The same Act appointed the first Inspectors of Mines for systematic safety inspection below ground. This responsibility, which then included the administration of Acts and regulations covering quarries and mines other than coal mines, was transferred on 6 December 1920, by Order in Council, to the Mines Department of the Board of Trade, and a Health and Safety Division was set up.

The primary functions of this Health and Safety Division concerned the promotion and enforcement of all regulations relating to the health and safety of miners in the industry. These included the investigation of accidents and the testing of various mine appliances such as safety lamps, rescue apparatus and explosives. In collaboration with the Medical Research Council and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Health and Safety Division was involved in the promotion of research in health and safety matters. In 1921 the Secretary for Mines set up a Safety in Mines Research Board to work in this field. A Health Advisory Committee was created the following year by the Department; this was a standing body to advise on the action to be taken to lessen the risk of occupational disease among mineworkers.

In 1942, the Division was transferred from the Mines Department to the Ministry of Fuel and Power and continued to be responsible for the administration of the relevant acts, orders and regulations. The powers of the Ministry to determine specifications and ensure their application were extended under the Mines and Quarries Act 1954. The Division worked in close co-operation with the Mines Inspectorate, which ensured compliance with statutory requirements and with the Safety in Mines Research Establishment over the statutory testing, approval and certification of equipment used in mines. The Division was responsible for the latter body until the formation of the Chief Scientist's Division. It also provided the Secretariat for the Mining Qualifications Board and was concerned with the establishment of standards for the examinations administered by this body.

After the abolition of the Ministry of Power in 1969, responsibilities transfered to the Ministry of Technology.