HC Deb 07 November 1972 vol 845 cc797-8
4. Mr. Cronin

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is taking to improve the standards of safety for workers in the constructional industries.

Mr. Dudley Smith

We are constantly trying to improve standards of accident prevention on construction sites and increasing efforts on this are being made by the Factory Inspectorate.

In addition, the Joint Advisory Committee on Safety and Health in the Construction Industries, which I chair, is carrying out a special exercise on the use of asbestos and on scaffolding collapses. Both sides of the industry are participating fully in this work.

Mr. Cronin

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that according to the last report of the Chief Inspector of Factories, over the past 10 years there has been an average of 15 workers buried alive every year through the lack of obvious precautions? Is the hon. Gentleman aware, further, that the rising trend of fatalities in the construction industries is contrary to the general trend in industry as a whole? Is he aware, finally, that according to the Chief Inspector of Factories the main problem is the dangerous indifference of some companies to the safety of their workers?

Mr. Smith

Indifference is a matter that we are trying to counteract all the time, and that is why the branch of the Factory Inspectorate concerned with the construction industries has been strengthened. It is true that the incidence rate for fatalities has been increasing in the last year. However, the incidence rate for severe injuries has decreased. The figures suggest that the accident prevention records of this industry are improving, and that is underlined by the Chief Inspector in his recent report.

Dr. Stuttaford

Is my hon. Friend aware that the increasing hazards to the feet and legs of construction workers are due as much as anything to many of the shoes which are supposed to be protective and which are being imported from Hong Kong? They are shoddy, and do not give the protection that workers have the right to expect.

Mr. Smith

I am afraid that I shall need notice of that question. If my hon. Friend writes to me, I will look into it.

Mr. Heffer

Will the hon. Gentleman indicate when we are likely to get the report of the inquiry into the recent bridge disaster near Reading? Is the hon. Gentleman aware that, as I understand it, two of the workers killed were labour-only sub-contracting workers and that this fact raises the whole question of compensation, their insurance benefits and so on, which can have a disastrous effect on the families of such workers? Will the hon. Gentleman look into this aspect as well?

Mr. Smith

Certainly I will look into that. However, it would be unwise to go into details in advance of the report. The Factory Inspectorate having completed its investigations, to which it is giving priority, my right hon. Friend will, as he promised, make a statement at the earliest possible moment.