§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many of the prosecutions brought for breaching asbestos regulations since 1986 resulted in the imposition of a fine; and what was the average value of the fine imposed. [7903]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordThe information requested is available only for prosecutions brought by the Health and Safety Executive's field operations directorate for breaches of the Asbestos Regulations 1969, the Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983, the Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1985, the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987 and the Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1992, from 1 April 1986 to 31 March 1996.
Not all prosecutions brought result in a conviction, and not all convictions result in the imposition of a fine. However, fines were imposed in 354 instances and the average fine imposed was £840.