§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the additional responsibilities given to the Health and Safety Executive since 1979.
§ Mr. NichollsThe Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 laid upon the Health and Safety Commission and Executive responsibility for virtually all aspects of industrial health and safety, and most aspects of the protection of the public from work activity. Within this overall competence, the Commission or Executive have acquired the following new responsibilities since 1979:
- (i) carriage by road, classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances;
- (ii) notification of new substances before they are placed on the market and of existing substances;
- (iii) action under the European directive on the control of industrial major accident hazards, including new responsibility for protection of the environment from hazardous installations;
- (iv) mains gas safety;
- (v) asbestos licensing;
- (vi) the enforcement of part 3 of the Food and Environment Protection Act and its related Control of Pesticides regulations;
- (vii) responsibility under the Control of Pesticides Regulations for the registration and assessment of non-agricultural pesticides.
- (viii) new and expanded nuclear safety work including preparations for licensing UKAEA sites and responsibilities from April 1990 in connection with nuclear safety research.
In addition new or substantially expanded work has been acquired in connection with the control of dangerous substances in harbour areas, radiation and noise and the health and safety implications of the development and use of new technology including programmable electronics and biotechnology. There has also been a significant growth of EC activity and directives in areas affecting safety and health, and a significant growth in public and international interest in relevant environmental and major hazards issues.
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number of Health and Safety Executive staff in each year since 1975.
§ Mr. NichollsThe total number of permanent staff employed by the Health and Safety Executive in each year since 1975 is as follows:
471W
Number 1 August 1975 2,937 1 April 1976 3,282.5 1977 3,917 1978 4,104.5 1979 4,170 1980 4,110 1981 3,884 1982 3,712 1983 3,593 1984 3,563.5 1985 3,616 1986 3,585 1987 3,526 1988 3,410 1989 3,449 1 October 1989 3,526.5
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the numbers of(a) factory inspectors and (b) agricultural inspectors who left the Health and Safety Executive in each year since 1975.
§ Mr. NichollsInformation on the numbers of factory and agricultural inspectors who left HSE since July 1979 is as follows. Information is not available before 1976 and for 1976 to June 1979 could be obtained only at dispropoprtionate cost.
Factor inspectors Agricultural inspectors 11979–80 27 7 1980–81 32 8 1981–82 53 9 1982–83 22 7 1983–84 26 5 1984–85 28 8 1985–86 30 7 1986–87 35 7 1987–88 45 5 1988–89 38 5 1 Figures cover July 1979 to March 1980 only. The figures include inspectors who resigned, transferred to other Civil Service posts or retired.
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the level of funding to the Health and Safety Executive in each year since 1975, expressed at 1975 price-levels.
§ Mr. NichollsThe level of gross financial provision to the Health and Safety Commission and Executive for each year since 1975, expressed at the 1974–75 price level, is as follows:
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£ 000s 1974–75 13,320 1975–76 22,701 1976–77 26,802 1977–78 28,203 1978–79 27,555 1979–80 27,796 1980–81 31,275 1981–82 31,257 1982–83 30,224 1983–84 31,339
£ 000s 1984–85 30,566 1985–86 30,521 1986–87 29,831 1987–88 30,395 1988–89 30,092 For consistency, the figures have been adjusted to remove funds provided during 1981–82 to 1984–85 for HSE's dispersal to Bootle; and to remove provision in earlier years for the industrial air pollution inspectorate which transferred to the Department of Environment in 1987.