§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) fatal and (b) serious accidents have occurred in the agriculture industry in each of the last four years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. GummerInformation is given as follows for fatal and major injuries reported to the Health and Safety Executive.
Accidents* in the agricultural industry, 1979–1982 Fatal Injuries Major non-fatal injuries 1979 89 not available 1980‡ 67 not available 1981 63 193 1982 61 173 * Includes injuries to employees, the self-employed, and non-employees ie fanners, their families and others; diseases are excluded. † Before the coming into force of the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations in 1981, records of non-fatal injuries in the agricultural industry related to employees only and did not distinguish those which involved serious injury. ‡ Includes 1 death from an accident which occurred several years previously.
§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made on the effect of reductions in the staff and resources of the Health and Safety Executive devoted to agriculture on the level of accidents occurring in the agriculture industry.
§ Mr. GummerHer Majesty's agricultural inspectorate has in recent years made significant advances in improving its operational efficiency, which have allowed it to maintain and promote high standards of health and safety in agriculture. It is encouraging that the numbers of fatalities in agriculture in recent years have been below the annual figures generally recorded in the 1970s.