HC Deb 14 March 1984 vol 56 cc174-5W
Dr. Godman

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many fishermen's lives have been lost in the past five years as a result of accidents at work; if he will provide comparable figures from the coal-mining and construction industries; what records are kept of injuries to fishermen; and how many injuries have occurred in the past five years in the fishing, coal-mining and construction industries.

Mr. David Mitchell

The numbers of deaths and injuries to fishermen are centrally recorded by the Registrar of Seamen and Shipping and the figures are published annually in the Department's booklet "Casualties to Vessels and Accidents to Men".

The following table sets out these figures for the years 1978 to 1982, together with those for the coal mining and the construction industries based on figures obtained from the Health and Safety Executive.

Accidental Deaths
1978 1979 1980 1981 1982
Fishing Vessels 80 feet and over* No. of deaths 27 4 7 3 3
per 1,000 at risk (6.4) (1.2) (2.2) (1.3) (1.1)
Fishing Vessels under 80 feet* No. of deaths 18 35 21 22 14
per 1,000 at risk (1.3) (3.5) (2.1) (1.8) (1.3)
Coal Mines No. of deaths 63 46 42 35 38
per 1,000 at risk (0.3) (0.2) (0.2) (0.2) (0.2)
Construction No. of deaths 126 128 134 105 102
per 1,000 at risk (0.1) (0.1) (0.1) (0.1) (0.1)

Non-Fatal Accidents
1978 1979 1980 1981 1982
Fishing Vessels 80 feet and over No. of accidents 573 413 207 97 90
per 1,000 at risk (134.8) (121.1) (64.7) (42.4) (34.5)
Fishing Veseels under 80 feet N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Coal Mines No. of accidents 46,773 40,802 36,733 31,080 24,975
per 1,000 at risk (189) (168) (151) (134) (115)
Construction‡ ║ No. of accidents 34,424 32,435 30,012 45,494 40,500
per 1,000 at risk (28) (26) (25) (42) (40)
* Fishing deaths include those recorded as "missing-at-sea".
"Accidents" in this table means the number of persons injured.
Accidents causing incapacity lasting for more than three days.
Construction figures are for employees classified under MLH 500 of the Standard Industrial Classification.