asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that people who live in Lichfield and work in Birmingham are required to fire-watch at their place of employment; that such duty inflicts hardship involving long periods away from home with difficulty in obtaining food; and whether he will, in view of the distances involved, consider allowing such people to fire-watch in the district in which they live?

The Fire Prevention Orders are based on the principle that a man's first duty is to assist in the protection of the place where he works. There is provision, however, for the consideration of individual cases of exceptional hardship by an independent tribunal.