§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much money has been spent annually by his Department since 1997 on research undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive and by the Building Research Establishment into the prevention of non-occupational injuries related to building regulations and design features. [153177]
§ Ms Beverley HughesFalls on stairs has been identified as the main type of non-occupational accident that involves design features. Research work in this area has been funded by Building Regulations Division, with support from HSE. The research, which was carried out by the Building Research Establishment, has concentrated on improving the design of guarding and stairs. The annual cost of this research to date has been:
- 1998–99—£131,665
- 1999–00—£105,987
- 2000–01—£150,309 (£97,704 from Building Regulations + £52,605 from HSE).
The work is expected to continue.