HC Deb 12 January 1977 vol 923 cc527-34W
Mr. Rooker

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many awards of industrial injury benefit have been made in each of the past two years for the following injuries resulting from industrial accidents: (a) loss of both hands, (b) loss of one hand, (c) loss of average weekly cost per head to the local authority of residential care for children and elderly persons living in (a) local authority homes, (b) local authority hostels and (c) voluntary homes where they are placed and paid for by the local authority for each year since 1970–71.

Mr. Moyle,

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 10th January 1977; Vol. 923, c. 423], circulated the following information:

The average weekly costs to local authorities in England are as follows:

index fingers, (d) loss of thumbs, (e) loss of one or both eyes, (f) loss of any finger, (g) loss of arm, (h) loss of leg, (i) loss of big toe and (j) loss of any toe.

Mr. Orme

I regret that some of the information requested is not available. The Department depends for details of spells of certified incapacity resulting from industrial accidents on a 2½ per cent. sample of cases, and this is too small to provide data on injuries which occur very infrequently, such as those causing

SPELLS OF CERTIFIED IN CAPACITY AS A RESULT OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS CAUSING TRAUMATIC LOSS*
Spells commencing in period
Traumatic loss of— June 1973 to June 1974 June 1974 to June 1975
International Classification of Diseases
N 885 Thumb(s) only or Thumb(s) and finger(s) of either or both hands. 240 200
N 886 Finger(s) only of either or both hands 1,200 760
* Spells of certified incapacity as a result of industrial accidents causing loss by surgical amputation are not included in the above figures.

Mr. Rooker

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) of deaths attracting awards of industrial death benefit how many were due to: (a) accidents and (b) diseases;

(2) how many deaths attracted awards of industrial death benefit in the latest year for which figures are available.

Mr. Orme

There were 1,442 deaths in 1975 which attracted awards of industrial death benefit; of these, 724 were due to accidents and 718 were due to diseases.

Mr. Rooker

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish details of the occupations of those persons whose death attracted awards of industrial death benefit.

Mr. Orme

Details are not available of the individual occupations of the 1,442 persons whose deaths in 1975 attracted awards of industrial death benefit, but the analysis by industry of these deaths is as follows:

DEATHS IN 1975 ATTRACTING INDUSTRIAL DEATH BENEFIT ANALYSED BY ATTRIBUTABLE INDUSTRY*
Industry Deaths
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 32
Mining and quarrying 594
Food, drink sand tobacco 23
Coal and petroleum products 6
Chemical and allied industries 28
Metal manufacture 77
Mechanical engineering 28
Instrument engineering 1
Electrical engineering 13
Shipbuilding and marine engineering 44
Vehicles 17
Metal goods not elsewhere specified 17
Textiles 59
Leather, leather goods and fur 1
Clothing and footwear 1
Bricks, pottery, glass, cement, etc. 44
Timber, furniture, etc. 8
Paper, printing and publishing 2

the loss of an eye, a limb, of a foot, a hand, or of toes. The sample does however show the following:

Other manufacturing industries 10
Construction 138
Gas, electricity and water 21
Transport and communications 135
Distributive trades 44
Insurance, banking, finance and business services 7
Professional and scientific services 16
Miscellaneous 30
Public administration and defence 36
Total 1,442
*According to the Standard Industrial Classification 1968.

Mr. Rooker

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will publish an estimate of the national resource costs of occupational accidents and diseases giving figures for: (a) fatalities, (b) industrial accidents, (c) cost associated with prescribed industrial diseases, (d) long-term incapacity, (e) non-reportable minor accidents and (f) other factors;

(2) if he will publish an estimate of the subjective costs of occupational accidents and diseases;

(3) if he will publish the resource and subjective costs of occupational accidents and diseases as a percentage of GNP.

Mr. Moyle

No estimates are available of the resource and subjective costs of occupational accidents and diseases subsequent to those published in Appendix 9 to the 1972 report of the Robens Committee on Safety and Health at Work. It was estimated in the report that the total of these costs amounted to 0.87 per cent. of GNP.

Mr. Rooker

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will introduce legislation to recover the costs to the NHS of work related accidents.

Mr. Moyle

My right hon. Friend has no proposals in mind for such legislation.

Mr. Rooker

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the cost to the NHS of work related accidents and diseases.

Mr. Moyle

I regret that this information is not available. The cost of treating particular diseases or conditions are not identified in the cost accounts of NHS authorities.

Mr. Rooker

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in tabular form the relationship between the following occupations: (a) coal face workers, (b) construction workers, (C) engineering labourers, (d) furnacemen, (e) fishermen, (f) textile workers, (g>) dockers, (h) kitchen hands, (i) mine managers, (j) construction managers, (k) engineering managers, (l) personnel managers, (m)

RATIOS (PER CENT.) OF THE NUMBERS OF DEATHS OBSERVED TO THE EXPECTED NUMBERS CALCULATED FROM AGE-SPECIFIC DEATH RATES OF MEN AGED 15-64 IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1970–72
Cause
Occupation* All Respiratory Tuberculosis (a) Cancer of Lung ect. (b) Bronchitis etc. (c)
007 Coalmine—workers underground 141 241 114 262
Order XV Construction workers 111 143 144 116
108 Labourers—Engineering and allied trades 101 147 109 151
018 Furnacemen—metal 113 155 162
001 Fishermen 171 376 250 280
Order X Textile workers 110 130 88 132
133 Stevedores, dock labourers 140 151 182 192
163 Kitchen hands 113 876‡ 97 91
177 Managers in mining and production 69 32 60 31
176 Managers in building and contracting 54 21 60 25
175 Managers in engineering and allied trades 65 60 27
178 Personnel managers 80 52 24
173 Ministers of the Crown, M.P.s (nec) senior government officials 61 37 28
214 Judges, barristers, advocates, solicitors 93 68 33
213 Clergy, ministers, members of religious orders 76 33 29
193 Primary and secondary school teachers 66 11 28 28
* The occupations are those defined in the Classification of Occupations, 1970.
† The full definitions of these causes of death are:
(a)Respiratory tuberculosis, ICD, 010–012;
(b)Malignant neoplasm of lung, bronchus and trachea, ICD 162;
(c) Bronchitis, emphysema and asthma, ICD 490—493.
‡Based on 11 deaths.

Mr. Rooker

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the number of awards made under the Industrial Injuries Scheme in respect of each prescribed industrial disease in each of the past two years for which figures are available, stating in each case how many of the awards were made for a second attack of the disease.

Members of Parliament, (n) judges, (o) clergymen, (p) teachers, and the following causes of death: (i) all causes, (ii) tuberculosis, (iii) lung cancer and (iv) bronchitis, showing each as a ratio to the national average and using the latest available figures.

Mr. Moyle

Every 10 years the Registrar General examines mortality in relation to work by comparing the numbers of deaths with particular occupations recorded on death certificates with estimates from the Census of the number of people engaged in those occupations. Provisional ratios for England and Wales obtained from deaths during 1970–72 and the 1971 Census are given below. It should be stressed however that these figures are subject to several limitations which will be discussed in a commentary accompanying the published data. They should, therefore, be treated with reserve until the full analysis is published.

Mr. Orme

Yes. Table 1 shows the total number of awards of injury benefit, and disablement benefit where this was not preceded by injury benefit, and also the number of those awards made for a second or subsequent attack of the disease. Awards of benefit for pneumoconiosis and byssinosis are shown separately in Table 2 because a different statistical period, calendar years, is involved.

TABLE 1
Prescribed Disease No (See Table 3) Total number of awards: injury benefit and disablement benefit not preceded by injury benefit) Number of such awards made for second, or subsequent attack*
June 1973–74 June1974–75 (Provisional) 1973–74 1974–75 Provisional)
1 59 45
2 0 0
3 3 1
4 2 2
5 1 1
6 0 0
7 1 5
8 3 2
9 0 0
10 0 0
11 1 0
12 0 1
13 0 0
14 1 0
15 0 0
16 4 4
17 1 1
18 0 0
19 1 1
20 0 1
21(a) 4 4
21(b) 1 0
22 1 0
23(a) 1 1
23(b) 16 18
23(c) 12 9
25 2 2
26 2 2
27 4 5
28 28 30
31 41 42 1 4
32 1,030 958 86 54
33 228 200 18 12
34 3,711 3,501 243 228
35 1 4 1
36 5 1
37(a) 0 0
37(b) 0 0
38 53 51 3
39 12 10 3
40 1 0
41 68 60
42 11,207 10,219 1,491 1,230
43 7 13
44 0 0 1
45 1 2 1
46 79 60
47 2 2
48 72
16,594 15,330 1,845 1,530
* Separate figures are available only where indicated. For the other diseases such awards are infrequent and only consolidated figures are available. These are:1973–74 —29, 1974–75 —23.
TABLE 2
Disablement benefit awards Disablement benefit awards
1974 1975
Pneumoconiosis 788 981
Byssinosis 126 156

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