§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons were killed in the construction industry in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982, respectively.
§ Mr. GummerThe information for 1979–81 is as follows. Information for 1982 is not yet available.
Fatalities in the Construction Industry 1979–81. Great Britain 1979 1980 1981 Employees 128 134 105 Non-employees* 21 31 29 Total 149 165 134 * Before 1981, fatalities to non-employees were reported on a voluntary basis only and are therefore not directly comparable with figures for 1981 which are based on reports resulting from a specific requirement under the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1980.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many persons were involved in minor and serious accidents in the construction industry between May 1979 and the latest date on an annual basis;
(2) if he will list the number of persons who have sustained (a) minor and (b) serious injuries in the building industry for the years 1979 to 1982 on a yearly basis.
§ Mr. GummerThe following table shows the number of non-fatal injuries in the construction industry which were reported to the Health and Safety Executive and which resulted in absence from work of over three days. Figures are available for calendar years only. Information for 1982 is not yet available.
Great Britain Non fatal injuries 1979 32,414 1980 29,981 1981* †42,936 * Provisional. † Employees only. Figures for 1981 are not comparable with those for previous years because new reporting regulations were introduced on 1 January 1981.
In 1981, 1,591 major injuries to employees in the construction industry, and a further 58 to non-employees, were reported. Comparable figures for earlier years are not available.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he is satisfied with the present arrangements for industrial safety in the building industry in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he is satisfied with the current safety regulations in the building industry in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerI am continuing to encourage and support the Health and Safety Commission and Excecutive in the exercise of their responsibilities.
90WThe commission recently approved a further programme of work for its Construction Industry Advisory Committee, which includes projects relating to safety training, health and safety advisory services, site transport and multi-contractor sites. Since this programme was approved, CONIAC, with the support of the Health and Safety Executive, has launched early this year a major publicity campaign, "Site Safe '83", which is aimed at increasing the awareness of the whole industry of the hazards and risks of the work it does. It is hoped that construction companies, federations, trade unions, safety groups and others will work together to make 1983 the year of construction safety.
Her Majesty's Factory Inspectorate and its construction national industry group are carrying out and monitoring a planned programme of operational work concentrating on high-risk activities with the general aim of promoting better standards in the industry in the future.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what plans he has to reduce industrial accidents in the construction industry in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what plans he has to reduce industrial accidents in the building industry in Scotland.
§ Mr. GummerThe number of fatal and other accidents in the construction industry in England, Scotland and Wales continues to be of concern to the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive. Many accidents on sites can be prevented if proper thought is given to the risks involved and the relevant precautions.
The current legal requirements relating to safety on construction sites are enforced within the HSE primarily by Her Majesty's Factory Inspectorate. These requirements are contained in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, in four sets of detailed regulations specifically applying to the industry and in other sets of regulations which have relevance also to other industries. Apart from enforcement activities the commission and executive are continuing to devote attention to a wide range of policy work including the development of guidance publications; a series of comprehensive guidance notes covering some of the known high-risk activities is in the course of preparation. The industry also is encouraged to improve its own standards and participates in the formulation of policy through the HSC's Construction Industry Advisory Committee.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many workers have been killed in industrial accidents in the building industry in Scotland from 1979 to 1982 on an annual basis.
§ Mr. GummerThe table shows the number of workers killed in the construction industry in Scotland in 1979–81. Information for 1982 is not yet available.
91W
Fatalities in the Construction Industry, Scotland, 1979–81 1979 1980 1981 Employees 27 16 22 Self employed* 2 2 3 Total 29 18 25 * Before 1981, fatalities to the self-employed were reported on a voluntary basis only and are therefore not directly comparable with figures for 1981 which are based on reports resulting from a specific requirement in the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1980.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest numbers of persons unemployed in the construction industry in (a) the Liverpool travel-to-work area and (b) the Merseyside special development area; and how these figures compare with May 1979.
§ Mr. Alison[pursuant to his reply, 28 February 1983, c. 57]: At May 1982, the last date for which an industrial analysis was made, the numbers of people registered as unemployed—the old basis of the count—in the Liverpool travel-to-work area and in the Merseyside special development area who last worked in the construction industry were 12, 782 and 19,112, respectively. The corresponding numbers at May 1979 were 7,137 in the Liverpool travel-to-work area and 10,405 in the Merseyside special development area.