Virus Research (Hansard, 17 January 1992)

§ Mr. Forth

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers are required to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees and others who may be affected by their activities. In addition, under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 employers are required to carry out a risk assessment for all activities which are likely to expose any employee to any substance hazardous to health, including pathogenic micro-organisms, and to introduce appropriate precautions commensurate to the risk.

Table 1
Estimates of the number of unemployed in EC countries annual averages
(thousands)
	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Belgium	487	496	463	463	447	390	328	302
Denmark	247	237	199	156	158	184	222	238
Germany	1,921	1,988	2,012	1,796	1,770	1,747	1,603	1,482
Greece	—	—	—	287	286	304	297	281
Spain	—	—	—	2,910	2,917	2,813	2,512	2,407
France	1,912	2,314	2,424	2,474	2,500	2,375	2,265	2,189
Ireland	200	221	239	240	239	230	208	202
Italy	1,970	2,097	2,189	2,420	2,373	2,535	2,498	2,316
Luxembourg	5	5	4	4	4	3	3	3
Netherlands	702	711	603	616	651	609	571	535
Portugal	—	—	—	383	321	266	240	224
United Kingdom	2,894	2,954	3,124	3,161	2,908	2,411	2,037	2,033

Source: EUROSTAT "unemployment" bulletins

Table 2
Unemployment Rates, Annual Averages
	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Belgium	5.0	6.4	7.4	7.9	8.2	8.8	10.8	12.6	12.5	12.5	11.6	11.6	11.4	10.0	8.4	7.7
Denmark¹	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	9.3	8.7	7.2	5.6	5.7	6.5	7.8	8.2
Germany	3.6	3.7	3.6	3.5	3.2	2.9	4.2	5.9	6.9	7.1	7.1	6.3	6.2	6.1	5.5	5.1
Greece	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7.4	7.4	7.7	7.5	7.0
Spain	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	21.1	20.4	19.3	17.1	16.1
France	4.0	4.4	4.9	5.2	5.9	6.3	7.4	8.1	8.2	9.8	10.2	10.3	10.4	9.9	9.4	9.1
Ireland	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	15.2	16.8	18.2	18.2	18.0	17.4	16.0	15.6
Italy	5.8	6.6	7.0	7.1	7.6	7.5	7.8	8.4	8.8	9.3	9.6	10.5	10.2	10.8	10.7	9.8
Luxembourg¹	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3.5	3.1	2.9	2.6	2.6	2.1	1.8	1.7
Netherlands	5.2	5.5	5.3	5.3	5.4	6.0	8.5	11.4	12.4	12.3	10.5	10.2	10.0	9.3	8.7	8.1
Portugal	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	8.2	6.8	5.6	5.0	4.6
United Kingdom	4.3	5.6	6.0	5.9	5.0	6.4	9.8	11.3	11.0	11.0	11.4	11.4	10.4	8.5	7.1	7.1
¹ OECD standardised rates are not available for Denmark. Luxembourg and Greece.
There are no OECD figures available prior to 1983 for Ireland.
² There are no reliable figures available as yet for the unified Germany, the figures quoted relate to the former West Germany.

Sources:

EUROSTAT "Unemployment" bulletins for 1983–1990 rates.

OECD "Quarterly Labour Force Statistics" for 1975–1982 rates.

652W

To assist employers with these provisions, guidance has been published for the protection of employees working in HIV and hepatitis B virus research laboratories and production facilities. The guidance is contained in "Categorisation of pathogens according to hazard and categories of containment" and "HIV—the causative agent of AIDS and related conditions" prepared by the Health and Safety Commission's Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens. Copies of the document will be placed in the Library.